Waiting for someone like you
by meyouthem123
Summary: AU:where Jude and Callie were separated after their mother death. Jude was placed at Fosters household and later adopted, but Callie was bouncing foster homes for 4 years, till a cop, Stef's partner for 2 years, Amy fostered her and later on adopted her, after meeting her on crime scene. How will the two siblings meet after 6 years of separation? Not a Brallie. First Fanfic ever.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: First ever FanFiction. English is not my first language so bare with the grammar mistakes. Story takes place at AU, where Jude and Callie were separated after their mother's death and Donald's placement in prison. Jude has been with Fosters ever since put in foster system, Callie was bouncing homes for 4 years, till placed at a foster home, run by a woman named Amy Scott, who after a year adopted her. this will hopefully be mostly T, but if it goes in M, i will put a warning.**

**Please note i am not expert at police work or foster system so this is just my imagination. one that i actually dreamed after the 2x08 episode.**

**I do not own the Fosters. **

Stef POV

Right now it was 6:28 and I was sure we would be late for the San Diego Music School Competition where the prize was the scholarship to learn with the best music teachers in the city, a scholarship with them. Rain was pouring. The windshields whisks kept going from one side to other, pushing the water away so Amy could see.

Amy Scott was my partner for about 2 years now on this force. She was a brunet, curly hair, dimples when she smiles, I have never seen her dressing in dresses. In a way she was so much like me. Just not gay, and instead of ex-husband and son from previous marriage, her baggage was much more harsher. Her son and husband were both killed in a car crash, coming home from a baseball game. It was about 2 years ago. Sometimes I don't understand how she could keep going. But, well, she has a purpose. And right now we had the same purpose. Her adopted kid Callie who was competing in the same thing Brandon was.

But right now we both had common goal - we had to make it to the audition.

We were both called to a robbery, and while we both had worked the witnesses as fast as we could, we both knew we were going to be late for our kids auditions.

"Do you know who Brandon is on list?" she asks as she makes a turn, at the yellow light. "Um, I think he said he was closer to end" I say as I hold tighter to the door handle as the turn turned out sharper than I foreseen. She hit the pedal to ground and went on the last kilometer.

"I am almost 80% sure Callie said she was like 16th…or 18th…." I give her a raised eyebrow and a smirk back "80% sure?"

"We were both in hurry this morning" she says back and smiles to me as she briefly looked to me "Don't tell me you always know what your 5 kids tell you?"

"I could say I do…but 4 of them are teenagers, two of them bicker over even pancakes and salad dressing, and everyone talks over each other" I joke and she laughs too

"See…we are the same" she says sounding confident about that

"No we are not" I say convicted, she looks to me wondering what I meant by that "Well…" I grin at her "Brandon will win the scholarship while your kids will eat his dust" I joke again, but she boosts again about her daughter "Your sons golden fingers are nothing to my daughters golden fingers and voice…she will hit the top note and you will fall back from your chair" the small chuckle indicating we were now both joking on our kids expense

"You wish!" I grin at her as she pulls up in the parking lot. We both jump out of the squad car and run inside. We push the auditorium doors open and take the nearest seat. Some boy walks off stage and then next kid walks up.

"That's my girl!" she nudges me up and calls for her "Yeah!", then shows her some sign with hands, the girl as she had took her spot, looks up from her guitar to over the back where we were sat, well, Amy now stood, I was just sitting now. Some other parents look back to us, wondering who made the noise. I can see the girl on stage smiles at Amy, and then pulls the mick a bit closer. Amy sits back down "Listen and learn oh Stefy, and hear how your son will eat my girls dust!" she nudges me with her elbow smiling at me

Lena POV

I put the lasagna on the table just as the twins, Jude and Frankie walk in and take their seat.

"Has anyone heard from Stef or B?" I ask and pour myself a glass of lemonade I made

"B texted saying they should be home in 10" Jesus says and then starts to stuff his face with food. Mariana gives him a disgusted look at his manners "How long ago was it?" I ask and start to eat too.

"Some 10 minutes ago" he says full mouth. "So, Frankie" I look to our youngest "Did your show your siblings the drawing you made today in kindergarten?"

She nods way too many times because she just like Jesus was stuffing her face

"We all saw it" Jude smiles looking to me

"And how was your math test today Jude?" I ask him knowing he had one and that he still had problems with math. Even with the tutor he had.

"I think I did okay. I hope for a C+" he looks down and pushes the food around a bit on his plate

"I believe in you bud" I say from end of table smiling to him warmly, just as back doors open and B and Stef walk in

"How did it go!?" Mariana managed to ask him before me as I had opened my mouth to ask him

"I-" he sits down as Stef washes her hands before sitting down "I got to finals!" he informs us and then there were some cheering and congratulations. Stef quickly kisses me and sits down, then takes her food too.

"Did you know which one you placed?" Jesus asks as he took a break from eating and actually decided to chew food

"Um…" he looks down and starts to eat, Stef speaks up "He lost to Scott's girl" she says and as always had a small smirk on her face

"I did not lose to anyone. It wasn't a final, just the first step audition!" he said a bit hurt "It was one point! One! Just because Mr. Richards doesn't like me!"

"Oh boo-hoo" the three oldest teases him a bit, Frankie joined too "B…suck it up" that she clearly learned from Jesus or Stef. I wonder which one let it slip while Frankie was next to them. "Watch it young lady" I scold her a bit

"Sorry mama" she says back quickly as she knew what she did wrong. Her eyes were as an open book. Stef kisses her temple which just made me think Stef was the one whose tong slipped and Frankie heard it. B shows her tong back like he was still 8. I loved my kids so much. They are everything I ever wanted in life.

"What did the Scotts girl play?" Jude asks after a moment to B "Um...some...song. I didn't ask. Wasn't listening to her play"

"She won with classic" Stef winks at me, as we both were fans of the Beetles. "I told you, you should have gone with more normal song" Jesus teases him a bit "When is the final?" I ask next, wanting to set the date aside so we all would go.

"In 2 weeks" he informs us and then the chatter moved on to other themes like Mariana's play. And Jude's poem.

Stef was now tossing the pillows to floor as I came back to room from bathroom. Stef yawned and got under the blanket and switched the light of. I joined her "B seemed upset that he placed 2nd "I say as I cuddle up to Stef

"Nah…he is okay. A little competition is good for him" she says and her fingers intervene with my "Amy is probably proud of her" I say back putting my head to her shoulder. Ever since two years ago the girl started competing almost at all the same places he did, every music school competition, they were on war path, who won more things.

"Ya'think" Stef chuckles and then adds to her previous statement "She put it in my face whole time back to precinct. And then some more…"

"You were going back to precinct?" I ask confused as to why she went back to the precinct as she had informed me in morning she would come right home, that is go to audition after work.

"We got held up at work. We both barely made it"

At least they made it – I think when she says it "Wait-" my trail of thought stopped "Those two were in back together?" I chuckle at the thought

"Aha…and yes, it was, not a very talkative ride"

Those two hated each other. They were the biggest competitors ever since Amy and Callie moved to this side of city. The kids as both were in music competed to one another almost in everything. They played nice in auditions and stuff, but in music school…they really hated one another. Biggest competitors ever.

"They will meet again in finals" Stef says and I hear her voice now tiered, her eyes closing "Night" I kiss her and she mumbles it back before drifting asleep


	2. Chapter 2

Jude POV

_Flashback 6 years ago_

_I stand with my teddy bear wrapped in my hands as I look how the two social workers talk to Callie alone. One was fat, that was the man, mommy would say he had a beer tummy, but the other was a lady, tall, slim lady. The woman was now kneeled down to Callie and explaining something to her that I don't hear._

_I want to hear too, so I start to walk closer, the big guy notices and walks towards me "Hey, little man" he smiles at me_

_"I want to hear too" I say looking up to, he kneels down in front of me too _

_"You are a little too young to understand that, so why don't we" he had a friendly face, eyes too "go pack your bag together"_

_"Why?" I ask cuddling the teddy bear closer to me_

_"You and me are going to take a trip together"_

_"I always take trips with Callie" I say peaking around him to Callie "I want my mommy too" I say sadly _

_"Jude, we already told you sweetheart, your mommy died"_

_"Show me to your room bud" he stands up and extends his arm for me. I walk him to my room, he finds my bag _

_"Ok, why don't you put your favorite shirts and pants and sweater in"_

_I hesitate, but I walk to my closest that always was neatly organized, because mommy like to keep everything clean and neat, and grab some shirts I like._

_"You will need some pants, bud. And socks and underwear. And don't forget your PJ" he helps me with the pants as they were hanged up and mommy always took them from me and laid down for me to dress up myself_

_"Can I keep Mr. Bunny" I say looking to the teddy bear _

_"Of course" he says and walks to my nightstand where a photo of me and mommy, daddy was, Callie took it so she wasn't in it._

_"Let's take this too" he says and puts the photo on top of the clothes, then closes the bag and I have to follow him out, where I hear Callie _

_"I get to say goodbye!" Callie state sternly to the woman and when she nods, she hurries to me and man walks back to the lady further in the house_

_"I am taking a trip Callie" I say as she walks up _

_"I know" she says in a sad tone and looks to me "Listen, bud…." She says and puts hand on my shoulder "I need you to promise me something, okay?"_

_"What?" I look up to her big brown eyes, that mommy called window to her soul_

_"You can't tell anyone about me. That you have a sister okay!"_

_"Why not! You are my sister"_

_"And you are my baby brother. But they can use that to hurt you" _

_"Why?" I say with tears in my eyes, I don't like that she said that I can get hurt_

_"Because I have heard stories where other people hurt someone just because they can. And they can hurt you if you say you have a sister" Callie explains_

_I just blink back at her and hug the bear even more tighter in my arms._

_"Don't tell the people that you have me! When I will be older, I will find you and I will get you out and we can live together somewhere, away from all the people okay. I promise you I will find you!"_

_"When will that be?" I ask confused_

_"Mommy once said that I can drive when I will be 16. Maybe when I am 16"_

_"But…but...you are…." I count on my fingers 4 more to my age "10! That is…."_

_"I know…a long time. But I will find you, and I will take you and we will then be together again"_

_"Callie?" I look to my bear "Where is this trip going to be?"_

_"I don't know" she replies sadly_

_"Are you taking a trip too?" she nods back and I add "but I want to take the trip with you"_

_"We can't" she says with tears in her eyes, looking to my_

_"Callie enough" the lady said "we need to go. The families are waiting"_

_"I love you Jude" she says, tear rolls over down her check _

_"I love you too Callie" I says and she pulls me in a tight hug "Promise me you won't tell anyone and that you will wait for me!"_

_"Callie, come one!" the lady said now harsher, Callie whispers in my ear "Promise me!"_

_"I promise" I say before the lady pulls Callie apart from me and I need to take the man's hand and follow him, looking back to Callie , I see how she wiped away a tear_

_End of flashback_

Once again I woke up with the same dream/memory of me and Callie being separated. I rub my eyes but don't get up or out of bed.

I don't know why I haven't told mom's about Callie. Callie was wrong that time, when she said people would hurt me. Moms haven't hurt me once. And they never will. But why haven't I told them about Callie? What am I so afraid of? That they are going to judge me? That they will be in some way disappointed in me?

Callie's 16th birthday was almost 5 months ago. She promised me she would find me when that happens. She hasn't. But would I go with her if she had? I love my sister, but I also love the Adams Fosters. They are my family now!

But Callie is my family also. I just don't know where she is? Is she even alive? Does she remembers me?

And then there is knock on the doors and they open shortly after "Come on boys, morning is here! Time to get up and get ready for school!" Lena says cheerfully, I hear Jesus groan from the other side of the room

"Mom is making pancakes!" she adds and that gets Jesus up and running around getting ready

"You too bud" she smiles at me and then walks out to B room, to wake him up too


	3. Chapter 3

Callie POV

I lay in the bed, wide awake, not in rush to go to school as it was Sunday. I keep staring at this spot, on the ceiling. Just, blankly staring at it. I turn on my side after a moment, looking out the open door to corridor. I hear mom's bedroom door open and second later I hear her walk down. She always asks me what I am thinking about in moments like this, when my mind travels 100 km/h…the answer in reality is simple. I was doubting myself yet again– If I did the right thing?

_Flashback 6 years ago_

_The mean looking lady pulled me aside. I glanced back to Jude who stood in the living room with his teddy bear in his hands, looking scared._

_"Now, Callie, I know this is hard to understand, but we need to split you and Jude up" she says and the words feel like as a knife to my back _

_"Why? He is my brother! I am not going anywhere without him!" I say back harshly, I was mad at the lady_

_"You have to" she states sternly _

_"Why?" I cross my arms taking a stand against her _

_"Because he has a better chance of finding a home when he is alone. Without you"_

_Those worlds really hurt, now I had to fight back tears in my eyes "Jude is at the age when families want to take him in yet. Good families. Families that can adopt him" she continues in her emotionless tone_

_"What am I THEN?" I ask not wanting to hear the answer to that_

_"I'm sorry honey, but not many families want a kid your age. Nor they want two kids. It is simple, honey, if we separate you two, that means Jude will be placed in a better home. If we don't, you both will end up in not as good home, that is if we even find one that wants to foster two kids. Don't you want your baby brother safe and in good hands?"_

_"Yes but…" she stops me_

_"And if you two stay together you two may be put in bad homes, where people won't really care that much about you. Not like they would care if he was alone. Are you sure you want to jeopardize Jude's chances of a good life?" _

_"But he is my brother" I say much more weaker and now less and less confident that I will win this argument. That I even want to win this argument._

_"There is already a family, a nice, good caring family that are looking for a boy his age, that have agreed to foster him"_

_"Isn't no one looking for two kids?" I ask scared, she shakes her head _

_"Do you want your brother happy, Callie?" she asks again, looking dead in my eyes_

_It was an easy questions so I nod back. But I also remember moms words – always keep Jude safe. Look out for Jude. He is your baby brother._

_"Do you want him safe?" she asks next and I nod again "then you know that you have let Bill take him to the family. So he would have the best chances of a happy life and a family that loves him. A chance at a future!" _

_Does this mean that I have no chance at a good life, a good family and a future? I want Jude happy, I want Jude…..to have a future. To be raised by someone good. I want it all for Jude! But I also want to be with Jude. He is my brother. She keeps looking to me._

_I need to make a decision now – her eyes tell me._

_I quickly wipe the tear that escaped "Okay" I say sadly _

_"Okay. You did the right choice Callie. Even if it was a hard one" she says and stands up _

_"I get to say goodbye" I say looking up to the woman now_

_End of flashback_

So now it was 6 years after our mom died and for the last 2 years I was living with Amy. She was the cop that arrested me for damaging Liam's car after I kind of lost it on him and his damn family. I guess that was one of many turning points in my life, like the end of something, but also start of something new. A new part of my life.

_Flashback 2 years ago_

_I was sitting on the street, on the grass, by the cop car, hands behind my back, waiting till the cop takes all family member statements. I looked over my shoulder and I see this cop talking to Liam. _

_Liam looked so…evil. His eyes are evil now. His eyes are no longer sweet looking, like they were when I first got here. I couldn't be in one house with him anymore, one room. His presence alone was too much. I feared his touch now. Him hugging me. How he pretended he didn't do anything. How he hadn't hurt me. That I wanted it! I didn't want that! I didn't._

_I look back in front of me and see how some people from other houses have walked out and were looking over at the house, wondering what happened. Why are there cops involved? Why am I handcuffed? Why is Liam limping? Why does his mother look so….disturbed and afraid of me? I dip my head down and look to the street. Avoiding their eyes. Their judgment and whispers about me._

_I hear footsteps up to me and the other cop now was up to me. A female cop._

_"Up" she says and I do so after I roll my eyes and sight. How fair was this? I got raped but I go to jail. _

_"Watch your head" she sits me in the car, when I am in the car, she unlocks the handcuffs _

_"Hands to front" and cuffs me again and then puts belt over me_

_She closes the doors behind me and I see Liam smirking his stupid grin at me. I shiver how I felt his hands on me, shivers run down my spine as the horrible night comes back to me. I look away from him and close my eyes. Picturing something else. Beach. My guitar. Sunset._

_I hear muffled sound as the cops talk outside the car_

_"Something seems fishy to me Matt" the female cop says_

_"The whole family said she went….crazy. Attacked the son. I don't see anything fishy. She clearly did it, attacked him and then smashed his car with a baseball bat"_

_"The girl seems to be hiding something Matt" the female cop says again to him, but he is not convinced_

_"Amy, look, we have a good family here, rich family, no record, no speeding tickets, good record with other foster kids, no nothing, OK?. The kid is in college. On Dean's list. And the girl is….she is a foster kid"_

_"So?" she asks back_

_"So, she has a record. Of being aggressive, previous damaging property. Now she just added assault too. I already called her social worker. He will meet us at the station"_

_The woman sights and her head dips as the man walks to car, she follows around to front. The woman looks back to me, sadly. I just look away from her too, as the man starts the car and drives away. _

_Finally I am away from that home. House. Away from him. His looks. His touch. I don't ever have to see him again. I won't let him hurt me again. He already took away something important from me._

_End of Flashback_

I finally roll out of my bed and get done with the usually morning routine for me.

I walked to kitchen, Amy was sitting at table, reading her newspaper, sipping her coffee. I make myself one, sat down next to her

"Morning Callie" she says and smiles at me. I say it back just as she gives me the front page of newspaper. I smile to her and sip the coffee.

I see her as my family. She is everything I have in this world. She was way different than anyone I ever lived with. She listened to me. She was nice. About 4 months back I actually started calling her mom, just from time to time.

It felt weird. I had a mother. And now I call her my mother, because she feels like one. I love her for that. She gave me a home and she loves and cares about me. No one had done that in like 4 years. In fact she gave me a home, when her own family, her husband and son died just about 3 months in fostering me. The reason to it, drunk driver. They were just coming home form a baseball game. That was a tragic loss, but despite it - she kept me. She didn't send me way. So that was the moment I realized she was different.

"Any funny jokes?" I ask as she was at the last page, where the jokes usually were

"No, pretty dry today" she says back

"Why are you in uniform?" I ask her as I saw the belt on the counter and finally noticed that she was in full cop uniform

"I...um, I picked up a security job. We are escorting to funeral toady" she explains to me

"Oh…who died?" I ask back curious about who had died. Mom rarely worked on Sundays.

"Some old, rich man. I am not really sure, pumpkin" she always called me in weird nicknames. It made me feel special.

"When will you be back?" she looks over the paper "Why? You planning a party?"

"No. Just curious" she looks to me for a while not saying anything, reading my eyes, if I am lying

"Should be some 2-3 hours I think" She replies back casually

I make a cereal as my breakfast and when I am halfway thought it, I get the courage to ask her "Hey, um…can I talk to you about something?"

Amy again glances over the newspaper, but then puts it down "What is it? Please tell me you weren't suspended again!"

"That - was not my fault!" I remind her "No, I…I was wondering, like, if you could, like check in with David" I slowly stutter out, wary of her reaction

"David? Why?" David was my last social worker, he was assigned to me after the 3rd home, when the previous social worker said I was too much trouble and she can't work with me.

"Jude" I say simply and her eyes sadden at once

"Callie, we already tried that, remember. They won't give away the information, because it was a closed adoption" She says and looks to me sympathetically.

I look down to my cereal "I just want to see him. Or like see a picture of him, how he has grown up? Or know if he is even in San Diego!" I reason with her, she kept looking at me sadly

"I hate that they can't even tell me anything. It has been 6 years, what if he has forgotten about me? That I even exist! I want to see him once! It can be a supervised visit! Can't you do anything? Ask them again, please! It could be your gift to me on Christmas!" I ask knowing it was only 3 weeks till Christmas

She smiles briefly as I mention of that, but then goes back to sad looking eyes "I can try, but you know the system. Just don't-"

"Don't get my hopes up. I know!" I finish the sentence for her and continue eating my cereal as I know, the system is a bad place to be in the first place. Not to mention how it worked. And the first thing I learned is to never get my hopes up. Never. Or I will get burned. I had before.

**AN: I would like some reviews, if this is even good? Or should I continue? Good or bad reviews, I will take them both. Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I know right now it is a slow read and i promise it will pick up a faster pace soon. but this chapter is necessary to just show Amy and Callie's relationship which I think is needed. Thank you for reading and sticking with me. Your reviews, follows and favorites mean a lot.**

Amy POV

We are driving back to precinct from the funeral. Stef was at wheel today. I kept my eyes out through the side window, I traveling in my own thoughts rather than talking with Stef. She was always delightful to talk to. I just wasn't in a mood to talk as I kept thinking about the conversation I had this morning with Callie.

"What's with you? You have been all quiet today" she asks and that takes me out of my own thoughts. I take a deep breath in and she automatically says "That bad, huh?"

"How did you-?" I turn to her and ask

Stef simply says "You have a tell," she pushes her lips together and smiles at me, after a brief moment she asks me "Is it Callie?"

My hand goes up to my forehead and I rub my brows "She wants to find her brother"

"What did you tell her?" she knew all too well about foster care, she had adopted 3 foster kids. She had 5 kids, the oldest Brandon, that Callie competed with at music school, then there were twins Jesus and Mariana, a boy, Jude, and the little one, Frankie who was just 4.

"Don't get your hopes up," I sight again and look out of the window "How can I tell her that the system doesn't want for her to know where her brother is?"

"You know as well as I do, the system sucks. Big time. It has done more bad to those kids than anything else in the world." Couldn't agree more, I think to myself, when she says that.

"What would you do?" I ask her looking to her, knowing she has adopted 3 kids of her own, fostered even more than that

"I would get the judge to get the files unsealed and tell my kid where her sibling is. Whatever it takes. If that is what she wants-" she says without thinking about it. I knew she would do anything for her family. She loved them too much, to not give them what they want or earned.

"It will take weeks! If not months!" I say frustrated, just thinking about the system, and then again glace to side window, watching the trees go by, I chuckled

"What?" Stef asks as I give out a small laugh

"She wants that as her Christmas present! I already bought her a camera! Do I bring it back? Return it? Or still give her it to her as a gift on Christmas Eve?" I chuckle again

"Keep ahold of it. You know, for rainy days!" Stef says and I know it is true.

Callie still needs a real gift. Even if it is just one. Every kid needs something they can hold in their hands for Christmas. That is under the tree. The joy of opening the present. The curiosity of what is inside. She needs that too.

When I pull up by the house I can see Callie sitting in the living room, the TV was on. I smile at how normal her life has turned out.

_Flashback _

_2 years ago_

_"I will be waiting out" Aaron, my husband, says as he drops me off at the Juvenile Detention "I think I won't be longer than 40 minutes. I doubt the girl will talk"_

_"Well, you said you saw something in her"_

_"Yeah. My gut feeling was talking to me" I say looking to the fences around the building_

_"Your gut is right most of the time" he snickers _

_"Most? Of the time?" I raise my eyebrow at him_

_"So you won't get cocky" he says and leans to kiss me "I will be outside waiting. No matter how long"_

_I get out of the car and look back to see how Aaron drives to park in the parking lot, because he dropped me off right at the entrance._

_I make my way in and till I even get through all the processes there are, it has already been 30 minutes. I text Aaron that I just only now got thought security and then after yet another 10 more minutes I am finally taken to the visitation room. _

_There are maybe just 5 other visitors. I just sit patiently waiting for the doors to open and the girl walking in. Finally the doors open and a guard is talking in the girl, dressed like all the other inmates, in blue jumpsuit. _

_I see her scoff and roll her eyes as she sees who her visitor is. She sits down only because she is told to. The guard walks away to the doors and looks over the room._

_"Hi!" I start, but I know I won't get an answer back. Probably just more eye rolls, silence, maybe a shrug or two. If lucky a nod. _

_"Do you remember me?" she nods back and looks away to the window on her right_

_"I'm Amy. Amy Scott" she looks back not saying anything just looks to me. _

_"How are you doing? I mean, I know, it probably sucks…but…like, do you have everything you need, slippers, toothbrush, shower gel? Stuff like that"_

_She doesn't even blink at me this time_

_"Your bunk mate ok?" I ask what just popped in my mind trying to keep the one sided conversation going. It was pretty hard. Like talking to wall._

_She shrugs this time. _

_"Yeah? That's good. You know, bunkmates are usually the ones you stick with"_

_"Really?" she asks sarcastically_

_"What?" I ask surprised that she spoke_

_"You are telling ME who to stick with. Do you not remember YOU were the one who PUT me in here in the first place!" she snapped harshly at me, grabbing the guard's attention. I show him it is ok and he walks back to doors and looks around some the room.._

_"You almost shattered your foster brother's leg and you damaged his car. You can't blame me for something YOU did. I just did my job!"_

_"Yeah, thank you for doing such great job the first time around when I called you people for help!" She snaps back at me. I was taken aback bit by her statement_

_"I'm DONE!" she looks back to the guard and he walks up and just takes her away. I am left sitting at the table alone. I was confused about her last sentence to me._

_End of flashback_

I open the front doors and call out like always "Callie I'm home!" I kick my shoes off and hear a response that comes from the living room "In here!"

I walk in to find her sitting with a pizza in front of her, big coke and the 5th Harry Potter movie "I left you some" she says pointing to pizza

"Does it have olives?" I ask falling in the couch next to her

"No. It's your favorite" Callie replies

"I taught you well!" I smile and she hands me the box that still had 3 pieces left

"Haven't you seen this one already?" I ask chewing with full mouth looking at the movie

"I was waiting for you to start the 6th one" she grins and stands up. Then walks to the TV and changes the DVD to the sixth movie.

"I bought chips too" she says and I see how she is waiting for my reaction

"Chips for supper?" I raise an eyebrow at her, if she could she would have pulled her head in her shoulders, disappearing

"With cheese" she adds and I can't hold the stern look anymore

"Bring it! Pour it in bowl so we don't make TOO MUCH NOISE!" I call after her as she disappeared in the kitchen. I hear her opening the pack and then she comes back with a bowl full of chips. She then pours some coke in the glass and slumps down next to me.

"It is not moving" I say as I bite another piece off the pizza and chew, nodding to the TV screen. Callie reaches for the remote and hits play.

"You know" I say and reach for the coke, sip some as the intro is going on "Sometimes…I think I should have married you instead of adopting you"

She frowns her face "Ew, gross! Since when are you gay? Since when am I gay?" she says after with a small smirk on her lips

"I'm not! But…you leave me my favorite pica, coke, with ice" I point out and lean back in the couch "and chips for supper! What else could I ever want from anyone else, but this sweet welcoming home after work!"

"Probably sex" she says so seriously and I almost choke on the pizza I just chewed "Joking" she says grinning at me

"Since when do you joke?" I ask suspicion to her

"Since you allow chips for supper!" she smiles at me. I finish the pica and drink some more coke on, then lean back in the couch and Callie quickly snuggled up to my side, I put my hand around her shoulder

"You chew loud" I tease her a bit and toss a chip in my mouth

"I learn form you" she says and I place a kiss on her temple back, then turning my attention back to movie as Callie is safe in my arms


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: first, answer to Brian1972, the Adams Fosters of course knows the surname of Jude before adoption. In my AU Callie's name right now is Callie Quinn Scott ( because she was adopted by Amy Scott), and Stef also knows Callie's surname before Amy adopted her, as she is her partners daughter(and Amy shared that with her), Stef knows that Callie used to have surname -Jacobs. ****BUT**** as I think it is quite common in my country, it also is common in USA that many people can have the same surname and not be related at all. ****AND**** in my AU Jude hasn't told Stef or Lena or anyone that he has a sister. So Stef has no reason to suspect that Callie and Jude are siblings even if they used to have the same surname. i hope that explains it a bit. i know this AU thing can be a bit confusing. Also the skill of guitar is answered this chapter :)**

**Answer to the guest, yes, Amy knows about the rape and yes, Callie went to Juvie for damaging property(Liam's car) and for taking the bat also to Liam's leg.**

**Also the first person will find out in next chapter. Any guesses who? or how? Thank you for reading and for your reviews.**

Lena POV

Day of the audition

All the kids piled up in my car. Mike took B to the theater where the finale of the audition was held like hour before to get ready. Before I drive out I take out my phone and dial Stef again. She should have been home by now. It again rings, but she doesn't pick up.

"Still not picking up?" Jude asks from front seat, it was his turn to sit in front.

Before I put the phone down I replay "No, she is probably held up at work. I will call her again when we get there. She wouldn't miss this" I say confident and put the key in the ignition

"Mom, do we have to go?" Jesus asks from back just before I start the car

"Why?" I turn back asking him, rubbing my temples as a headache was coming on

"Well…for starters I have heard him play the song over and over 100 times only yesterday!" Jesus whines a bit, these kids are not really made to sit thought things like Music School competitions. Jesus especially.

"And he already played it for all of us 4 days ago when he finished it" Mariana ads from sitting on the other side of Frankie, who was in her seat in the middle.

"But you have never seen him on a stage" I say back to the twins "It will be nice change from volleyball"

I looked to Jude briefly "I actually agree with the twins" he says slowly and I know he doesn't want to hurt my feelings

"Guys, this is a finale. It is a big thing. B needs all of our support" I say trying to talk them into this, again. I don't know how I managed to get them all dressed up and in the car in the first place. Next time, getting the kids ready for things like this, will be Stef's job.

"I can support him from my room too!" Jesus adds back. Right now Frankie was the only one who wasn't against it. But I know that will probably not last long with her siblings complaining.

"Okay. Let's make a deal …you all go to the finale and support B and I will allow ice cream for lunch!"

I look all around my kids "Chocolate ice cream mommy?" Frankie asked first.

"Whatever flavor you want I will allow it. If you go, and only for one time! You can use your coupon whenever you want! But only one time!" I set the rules

"I'm actually OK with that" Jesus chuckles and puts in his ear buds and hits play on his phone for some music

"Me too, mama…" Frankie says clapping her hand "2 out of 4…Mariana?"

"I'm in too," she says with a big smile on her face

"Yeah, me too" Jude says

"Oh…and don't TELL this to B! Got it?" then I turn back to front. They all mumble yes back. But I mumble to myself "Bribing my kids. How far I have come. It's like I am turning to Stef" this headache I had right now was not helping the cause too.

Just when I drive out Frankie speaks up again "Mama…I need to go pee pee!" we just left the house, and I asked her to go to bathroom with me just before we walked out of house. I sight and shake my head.

Callie POV

I could now honestly say I was worried. I was sitting in the most quiet place I could find in the backstage repeating the song now for the 3rd time as I am waiting for my big moment. I look up and saw how the girl who plays cello – Christa Hendrix - walks away as she was next to perform. That means I am soon up, right after her. I look around all the other kids, who were sitting head down in their music sheets. I looked over to Brandon, who was sitting eyes closed playing his song with his fingers on his leg. He looked so calm. Like he was made for this. This stress. This life style called being a musician. Like he was born to do this.

_Flashback 2 years ago, 1.5 month in Amy fostering Callie_

_Amy pulled up to the big building, there was a sign on the wall, just next to the doors "San Diego Music School" I sight as I read it. I haven't played for like 4 years. _

_The last time I did, it was with my mom not some probably mean looking old lady. In my nightmare, I dreamt that the lady from Music school, which I am seeing today, was extra mean and she was hitting my fingers with a ruler, but I know that is not exactly possible when you play guitar. So I just shake the horrid nightmare away and look to Amy._

_"You ready?" Amy reaches for her bag that was on the backseat _

_"If I say no, does it change anything?" I ask her back_

_"No" she smiles, I roll my eyes and scoff, she then gets out of the car and then walks around the car and taps on the window as I still haven't moved from my spot. I sight again and get out. _

_"Come on, slow poke" she teases me lightly "Your teacher is probably already waiting for you" she says and locks the car from almost at the doors._

_"Why exactly did you sign me up to this?" I ask as we both now were inside the building_

_"I already told you. Your PO wants you to be active in community life or after classes. It will look good on you – attended San Diego Music school from 2012-2016!" she gestures her hand in the air "Doesn't that sound nice?"_

_"Not really" I say with a hint of attitude_

_"Look!" she states as we walk up the stairs "You only have to try ok. If you don't like guitar anymore, I will find something different for you. Some art school or sign you up to some volleyball or….help the elderly-"_

_"Ok, ok….got it. But I just want you to know, I am probably horrible at it by now. I haven't touched a guitar in 4 years"_

_"Don't put yourself down before you even try it. You just need a little reminder is all" She states and then knocks on the doors and we head in._

_End of flashback_

"Callie Scott!" the lady called me "Come on, you are up next" she smiles at me and I stand up with my guitar Amy got me after 4 months in music school. I take in a deep breath and follow the lady.

Meanwhile - Lena POV

My phone vibrated, I quickly looked down to it. I felt relieved when I saw Stef has texted me

-**Where are you all sitting?**

I quickly type back and hit send

-**11th row on the right side, right at the aisle**

Then I heard the doors in the auditorium open and when I looked over, I saw her and Amy sneak in as quietly as they could. Luckily there were 3 free spots next to Jude on the far end so I show them to scoot and they do. Mike stand up and lets the two officers sit inside as he takes the seat outside.

"Where were you?" I whisper to her as she sits down next to me

"Got held up" Stef whispers back

"Did Callie already played?" I hear Amy ask Mike. They knew each other from force.

"No. You didn't miss a thing" right now a girl was playing cello on the stage and she was real good at it. She played with so much emotion, so passionate.

I glanced to my kids, and saw that the three oldest were on their phones. I sight at them.

"Can you at least listen to the concert?" I whisper to the three of them

"We are listening" Jesus says back and then some people from front turned to us "Shhhh"

"Sorry" Jesus says to the woman, who had turned to us

"How disrespectful" the lady says back in bitter tone

"What did I do?" Jesus asks back harsher and louder to the woman

"Hey, he apologized!" Jude says to the woman standing up to Jesus

"Watch your tone young man!" the lady now scolded Jude as well

"I am sorry for them. My kids are a little impatient" I say apologizing for all of them leaning over Frankie's seat, closer to the woman. She looked to me and then looked to my kids, just then Stef tapped on my shoulder

"Love, it's Callie's turn. You should listen, she is really great" Stef whispered at me

The woman now looked to Stef too, over her other shoulder "Great. Dykes"

All our mouths dropped at the insult. But Stef ignores the comment and only offers the woman a look and as she looks to Stef, Stef points on her shield and gun to her side as she still was in uniform. The woman quickly look over her other shoulder to my kids and then back to front. Then we all head her whisper to the man next to her "They have all sinned in front of God"

"What did we ever do to you!" now Mariana jumped in too after the woman's comment, saying it to her face after tapping on her shoulder, grabbing her attention

"Excuse me!" The lady said sounding offended

"Ok…all of you…out" I say to the three oldest and included myself, we left the auditorium just as Amy's daughter Callie was taking her spot on stage. I walked with the three oldest out to hall.

"Mom she started it!" Jesus said first when we were outside

"I don't care who started it! We are finishing it!" I told him sternly

"But she was rude and she called you and mom dykes!" Mariana now reasoned

"And is that a reason to raise your voice to the woman? I thought you all knew better than that!" I said back to Mariana

"But Jesus apologized and she still continued!" now it was Jude's turn to defend themselves

"Look. I am very, very happy that you all stood up for one another and me and mom, but that is no way to act when you are in public. It is better to just walk away and not start a fight!"

"I doubt she would win the fight!" Jesus mumbles under his breath

"I mean a verbal fight. Not a physical one! But you always need to walk away from confrontation like this. There is no use to argue with someone like her! She doesn't care what you say! She already knows how she feels for people like me and mom, and nothing will change her mind. Got it?"

"So what now? We are free to go home?" Mariana asks after they all nodded to my earlier statement "We no longer need to stay for B audition?" Jesus added to the question

"No…you will still stay! But because of this….what happened in there just now, the ice cream deal is OFF!" they all grumble under their breaths, pout and whine.

"You will go to other side and find yourselves some seats. Sit thought it! And meet us HERE…in this hall AFTER!" I point to the ground

"I liked the ice cream deal" Jude mumbles as I guide them to the doors that lead to other side of seats. I wait till they walk in and find a spot to sit on the left side. Then I walk back and sit down next to Stef and Frankie.

Some boy was now on stage and I knew I missed the one performance beside B, I was looking forward to the most.

"Where did you put them?" Stef whispers to me

"Other side" I said and nodded to the seat all the way on the left. I then settled in my seat and tried to enjoy the rest of the kids performances.


	6. Chapter 6

Amy POV

I was now waiting in the hall along with, well, almost every other family member of all the kids. Right now, the kids who performed, were just talking to their teachers and other students, just talking over the finale and the results in the backstage.

I looked over to the Adams Foster family. Stef was now cleaning off something with her thumb from Frankie's face as she was holding her up in her arms. Lena was talking to the three oldest, probably still lecturing them about what happened in the auditorium with the woman from front row.

My eyes were on the youngest boy. He was now looking to floor and rocking from front of his feet to the heel and back. Typical look in a kid who is being lectured. I have never seen their other kids except from Brandon, who I mostly just met on these kind of things, because Stef was always at all of his auditions.

The boy briefly looked to my way. I instantly saw his yes. There was something in his eyes that looked so familiar to me. But I couldn't place it, even if I tried real hard. He looked back to Lena.

Mike from the herd walked up to me where I was leaned at the window sill.

"So…ice cream for supper?" he asks me

"Yeah. Probably. Lots and lots of cuddles too." I said smiling back at him

"Just don't settle for two buckets of ice cream!" he jokes. The girl named Christa Hendrix had won, she played cello. I was happy for her, but sad for Callie. I knew she wanted to win badly.

"Hey, um…can I ask you something?" I look to him, hands pressed against the sill, I pushed up and now I was sitting on the window sill, still looking at the Adams Foster clan

"Shoot" he says back

"Does….ok, this may sound crazy…but does Jude and Callie look similar to you?" I kept my eyes on the boy just in front of me. His brown locks.

He looked to me confused "Similar…how?" he asks slowly

"I don't know…it just…I am looking at him" I gesture to the boy who stood maybe 10 meters from us "his…face, chin….just, I don't know. When I look to him he just reminds me of Callie"

He chuckles "I don't see anything similar…sorry. But I am a dude…so, I am not good with spotting the common…or actually a difference or new stuff" He chuckles again "You can ask Stef, she will point out everything I missed while we were married! All her new hair styles, her new clothing. Everything…looks the same to me"

"So you are no use!" I say back and chuckle lightly

"That's what Stef said" he jokes back to me

"Oh!" I notice Callie walking in with her guitar on the other side of the hall "That's my cue!" I say jumping off the window sill and heading over to her as she stood now stood in the big hall looking for me all the way to the wrong direction

"See you at work!" I say to Stef passing her

"Have a good weekend!" she calls back

"You too" I say and after almost bumping in 4 people, tripping over 2 and spinning around third I finally got to Callie

"Are you up for the 5 liter ice cream?" I put arm around and head with her down after taking her guitar from her

"I have a better idea" She says smiling at me

"Do you know?" I question her as we head down to lobby

"Yeah…how about you let me drive home" she says and snaps my keys out of my hand

"You are not upset that you didn't win?"

"Please, mom. Christa has been playing cello for the last 10 years and let's be honest. Guitar is much easier instrument to play than cello. So I would never win the big thing….it just won't happen. Ian, who plays guitar, knows that too. I am just happy I made this far"

"Huh…" I was struck by her words for a moment. Mostly because she wasn't as upset as I thought she would be.

"And actually…" She adds

"Yeah…" I drag slowly thinking I won't like what I will her "I will want that ice cream too"

As we were driving home I kept thinking about the Adams Foster boy. The youngest one. Jude. When he had looked to me just briefly before Callie came looking for me out in the hall, his eyes were just like Callie's. It seemed like Callie was looking back at me.

The thought kept me awake for hours that night.

* * *

Today was Christmas, so I shook the thought off my mind for one day to just hang out with Callie and give her the Christmas she needs. We went to buy a small Christmas tree to just get the Christmas feeling going, went to the market and bought us some gingerbread and other Christmassy stuff. Callie was happy for the Christmas present I got her, a camera. And that day alone, when she got it, she snapped the whole memory card full of pictures.

It was now the day after Christmas and we were now both sat on the living room couch. I was trying to watch a Christmas movie I have seen over dozens of times Santa Clause 2, while Callie was busy at starting to slowly to irritate me.

"Did you know you look better on your right" she said sitting cross-legged on the couch looking to the photo she just took. Then she snapped another photo

"Can you stop…for like a minute!" I turn to her and asks a bit irritated as this has been going the whole day, and by now she probably had 500 pictures of my left side of the face

"Hey, you bought this for me. And I am just trying all functions out and filters"

"Are you 5?" I ask with small smile on my lips. Actually I was happy she was this happy because of her present "You will still have it tomorrow…oh…and for the rest of your life!"

She lowers the camera "Don't be silly, I will sell this when the new age digital cameras show up, that will be built in our eyes and will be controlled with our _minds_!" she taps to her temples "And no…I like to think of me as a 7 year old" she grins at me

"You certainly act like a 5 year old with a new toy"

"Well…for your record when I was 5 I got a robe…and I hated the Santa Clause for days!" I chuckle lightly "Also I got socks and a new PJ. It was a weird clothes year. Maybe you can say I am compensating" she smirks at me and snaps another photo of my left side

Finally after some 4 more hours she was done editing them and deleting half of the pictures she took or maybe even more. She fell asleep on the couch we were both sat on.

* * *

It was now 2:24 AM, she was now lightly snoring on the couch as I was just watching a movie. I put the blanket over her and she shifted lightly and turned on her side now, facing the couch, and let out another small snore.

I reached for my laptop she had closed and put on the coffee table and decided to start my little research. Basically all I did was found a photo of Jude. I went to the Anchor Beach homepage and looked at the 7th graders pictures till I found Jude Adams Foster. I saved it on desktop and opened one of many pictures Callie had snapped of herself. Opened both of the pictures next to one another.

I didn't imagine it two days ago in the hall. Their eyes were the same. Their smiles too. Could it be that the boy we have been trying to find, her brother, was just in front of us this whole time? I look to Callie on the couch, she was sleeping so peacefully I didn't have the heart to wake her up.

I cannot mess this up- I think to myself as I close the images. I need to find solid proof that these two kids are related. And frankly there was only one person I could think of going to right now. The one person who I know won't lie to me, as I trust her with my life, and she trust me with hers. The one person who has the answers I need. But does she have answers to **_all_** of my questions? Maybe Stef was as clueless as I was in this whole thing?

I close the laptop and carefully slip of the couch, Callie stretches her legs out immediately, still sleeping peacefully. I head upstairs to my room. Put the laptop down and dig thought my desk that was full of different paperwork.

I get out the red file that contained every little thing I had about Callie ever since she started to live here. Every damn paperwork. Copies of grades, medical records, everything there was.

I pull out a stack of papers that were put together. I reread everything I had, it takes me few hours to do so, I was just looking for something I missed. Something I hadn't seen before.

I go back to laptop and do some more digging after I find nothing. After the brief research I come up with a plan how I will handle this. I can't tell Callie yet, but I do know how I will start all this. And right now the trip to Adams Foster household has slide down few points on my list. As I know just where I will go look to ask the questions that I desperately need the answer to.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: so updates from now will be not as often as I started my Master studies today. But I have some 5 chapters written up front, so the posting will mostly depend on my schedule in university and the work load. I hope you enjoy this. Thank you for reading. And thank you for your nice reviews, means the world to me :) **

Callie POV

When I woke up I kind of expected mom to be on the other end of couch also snuggled under the blanket. But the other end of couch was empty, only two pillows were sat there. I stretch out and turn on my other side.

The first thing I see is my new camera. This was the best gift even. My eyes light up and I can't help, but to smile. Silly, it is just a camera, but it means so much to me, because Amy bought it for me. And it truly is the best gift I have ever gotten.

As I listen closely, I hear busy footsteps coming from upstairs. I put the blanket aside and make my way up. The doors to Amy's room were open and I peak in.

"Mom?" I ask and saw that she was showing a red file in her bag

"Morning Callie. You sleep well?" she asks and grabs some more papers from the table and takes them with her.

"You going somewhere?" I ask as she takes her bag over her shoulder and walks pass me and down the stairs. I quickly follow her down.

"I need to go to work real quick" she briefly looks over her shoulder to me

"You said you had vacation till January 3rd" I say as I clearly remember her saying that after we drove home from the finale. She hurries to kitchen and grabs bread and tries to make quick breakfast.

"Something came up. Stef and I were called in. It is just for today" she says, but somehow I don't believe her. Mom wasn't even looking to me. She just cut the cheese up and put it on the bread and made another sandwich. Something was wrong.

"Why you and Stef? You both have families. Couldn't they call in someone who hasn't?" I question her now that she pours coffee in her thermos that before stood right next to sink

"I'm sorry Callie. I have to go. You can be on your own for one day, yes?" she asks putting the cap on

"Yeah, I will be fine" I say and follow her to front doors , she stops at doors

"Can you…open please?" she asks me standing with bag over her shoulder, thermos in one hand, two sandwiches in other

I reach and open the doors for her "I will be back in few hours" she says and leans to kiss my cheek "Love you"

"Love you too" I mumble back and watch as she goes to car, puts the sandwiches and thermos on top of the car and unlocks the car. She looks to me before she gets in, I wave briefly to her and then watch her drive out and away from my sight.

That was definitely weird. I don't usually do this but I hurry up to her room and walk up to her desk where she took the papers from. I have no idea what I am looking for, or what is missing from her desk, but I know one thing…something was off. I felt it. And I also knew that she kept the files on me in here. I sat on the floor and went thought all the papers in the drawers. My files are no longer here.

Time went by and I just sat in the house alone. Waiting for text or call from mom. Or her coming back. It was now around supper time and I started to get a bit worried. She said she would be back soon. Usually she texts me at least to tell me how long will she be away. The fact that my birth mom left for night out and then never came back is adding some more fear to me. What if the same thing happens to Amy. What if she was in a bad car crash? Or something happened at work? Something bad?

I sit in the kitchen for a while just staring at the clock on the wall. How the seconds pass, making minutes. Time goes by so slowly, so painfully slow. And when the clock hits 8 I am starting to pace around the house, biting my nails and I start to call her. But I get no answer.

I don't like the feeling of the unknown.

Lena POV

We were all sitting with popcorn bowls in our hands as we were watching a Christmas movie all together. Something that Frankie hadn't seen yet – Grinch. Other kids, Stef and me included had seen it hundred times. It was one of Jude's favorites. We all knew the song lyrics now by heart. And as I looked to Jesus, even he was mumbling along the words, moving his head lightly in the rhythm of it. That is very rare of him.

"What is that noise?" B asks and we all look to him

"What noise?" Mariana asks back. Brandon reaches for the remote and hits pause.

"That!" he says as we know all hear this vibrating sound and a tone coming from kitchen

"I think that's my phone" Stef says and kisses Frankie's head "I will be right back, love" Frankie watches mom walk away and now snuggles up to my side.

"Play…play!" she says to B and he hits the play button and the movie continues

5 minutes later Stef shows up in doorway and waves me over.

"Go snuggle between your brothers" I whisper to her and she crawls over me and Jesus to sit between Jesus and Jude on the other end of couch.

I look around all my kids before I head over to where Stef was. She was no walking up the stairs as I walked out of living room.

"Babe?" I ask and follow her up

"I need to go out for a while" Stef says without looking back at me

"What? Why? Who called you?" I ask and follower her in our room. She unlocks the safe and takes out her gun and badge.

"Stef!" now I start to get really worried

"It was Callie. Amy is not picking up. She though me and Amy were at work. Working on some case together. Callie said Amy left like 9 AM and said she would be home soon. She is not. It is almost 10! She sounded really worried." Stef explains

"Have you tried calling her?" I ask worried as she puts the gun in her holster

"I did, it went straight to voice mail. I will drive to their house and talk to Callie, then I will try and find where Amy is. Maybe call work, Captain…" she takes her brown leather jacket and puts it on

"Just be careful OK. And call me. Or text so I know how it is going okay? Put on your vest if-" I say still concerned

"Don't worry love. I won't make the same mistake again" last time she took her gun and run out like this I got a call that she was shot by the twins birth mothers boyfriend. So to say the least - I was terrified.

Stef stopped before me, kissed me "I will be careful. I promise. I will text or call as soon as I know something. I love you"

I followed her down and from the doorway watch as she explained the kids she will leave for a while. Hugged and kiss every one of them. And then gave one last kiss to me before she run out to her car.

Stef POV

I drive up to the house and as I look over to it, I see through the windows, that Callie is just pacing around the living room. I quickly make my way to the house and ring the bell. I hear footsteps over to the house, but the doors don't open. Instead I see how the curtain move on the small window on the right from the doors.

"It's me, Stef. You called me" I call out so she knows it is me and then the doors open. A very scared looking girl is standing in front of me. Callie steps aside and I walk in. she closes and locks the doors behind. She turns to me and keeps biting her lip.

"Okay….tell me everything she said to you this morning" I say and get straight to the business as I see this girl does not need some warm up to the theme. She explains everything quickly to me just there in the corridor.

"Did she acted weird before? Like when did this started? Just this morning?" I question her

She shrugs at first "I think she was a bit weird after the music thing before Christmas. In the car on our way home. I don't really know…she just look like she was deep in her thoughts…but, the anniversary of Aaron and Markus death is coming so I don't know…"

"You said she took all your file?" Callie just nod back "Can I go up to her room and look around?"

"Okay…but it is not like there is something," she walks pass me and up the stairs.

Callie shows me to Amy's room "She took the red file, that had all my files in, I don't know why. But I knew it was in there, and now it is not," then she adds quietly "I made the mess" she says and now looks around the room too

"Has she said anything to you about the search for your brother?" I ask looking at the room. To the papers that were all around the room.

My eyes stopped on the laptop on the bed "Did you check her laptop?" I ask her

She shakes her head "Should I," Callie asks back to me, and now looks like she feels guilty that she hasn't

"May I check it?" I ask carefully

She hesitates "There is nothing on there. But okay" she says opening it and typing in the password to unlock the screen.

First thing I do is check her history on internet providers. Something catches my eye.

"What is it?" Callie asks as she stood at the end of bed as I was sitting on the bed with the laptop in my lap.

"I'm not sure" I say and open the page that caught my attention. I looked to the downloaded file and opened the file. I take a quick glance to Callie, she was now picking up the papers that were tossed around, cleaning up the mess.

I look back to the laptop and open the picture - Amy had downloaded a picture of Jude from the Anchor Beach homepage. Why? I look at the time stamp it had been done around 2 Am at night. That is clearly an odd time to do that.

I close the photo and look at the last pages. Page of Lompoc Federal prison caught my eye next.

"Callie?" I ask and the girl quickly stands up with now many papers in her hands "Do you know anyone who is in Lompoc Federal prison?"

"Um…" she rubs her nose "well, my da-…my step-father. But he is getting out in few months" she says and looks embarrassed about the fact that she knows someone in prison. And that being her father was probably even more embarrassing than anything else.

"What…what is his name, if I may ask?" I ask and I think I already know the answer. I think I put it together. I connected the dots after I saw the photo of Jude in the laptop.

"Donald Jacobs" she confirms what I was thinking just here and now.


	8. Chapter 8

Callie POV

I am standing there looking at Stef who now blinks back at me, not saying anything for at least a minutes now. She seems like she has seen a ghost or something. Did I say something? I think back to what I said, I don't think I said anything that could have caused this reaction. She just froze and now was looking at me. She isn't even blinking.

"Do you think she went to see him in jail?" I ask her again and place the papers on the table.

She shakes her head and lightly scratches her temple and says still sounding shocked or something "Um…it is a possibility."

She takes a minute and says nothing back just looks at me again. This is actually getting a bit weird, if not on edge of creepy. Then she suddenly snaps out of it and looks back to the laptop, briefly shaking her head to herself

"If she had, that would have explained why she hasn't picked up. But I think she should have been back by now." Stef explains further

"I don't understand why she lied to me. I mean…I asked her to help me find my brother…and now she has taken all my files" a sudden realization of one of my oldest and worst fears hits me

"Do you think….she no longer wants me?" I say out loud what I just thought in my head, the worst possible outcome for me. It is easy to become comfortable in a place, and that is exactly what I have become in this home. I am comfortable. I have let my walls fall. In fact they have completely disappeared around Amy. I am completely vulnerable right now.

"What?" Stef closes the laptop and jumps up "No, Callie. No! Amy loves you. The way she talks about you. She would never give you up. Never! You have to trust me on that"

"Well, I am sorry, but I don't" I say angry, I was angry with myself because I have gotten so vulnerable.

I turn around on my heel and walk out of the room to my room, with the fear that Amy will give me up in my mind. And Stef, she asks to just blindly trust her? No, I am not like that, I could never just trust her, so simply, when she says I have to. On an order or something. Trust is something to be earned. She hasn't earned it. I barely know her.

"What are you doing?" Stef asks as she had followed me to doorway. I was pulling my big bag out of the closet

"Packing" I say walking to get some clothes out

"Stop, Callie! She is not…she is not giving you UP!" she grabs the bag out of my hand, stopping me in my actions

"How do you know that!" I snap back at her harsher than I have intended to, but she does not flinch, like she expected me to do that

"Because I do! I know her! And I know how much she loves you! Amy is not _giving_ you up!" Stef emphasized that word

"Then where is she! Huh! She took all my files! Everything! Lied to me! Left without saying where she was going! And she isn't picking up her phone! WHERE IS SHE THEN?" I vent right there and then

Stef turned her head away, and showed me to wait a minute.

"What!" I ask angry and frustrated that she just turned away from me, ignoring me

"I think someone pulled up by the house. I think I heard a car" she says and walks down the stairs. I follow her down and run to the window to look who it was.

Amy POV

I walk around the car and take my bag out, just when I turn around to close the doors I feel a shove to my shoulders and my back. From the force of it, I hit my car, causing me to drop the bag I was holding.

"WHERE THE HELL WHERE YOU!" Callie is yelling at me full voice on, she was clearly and visibly angry at me, and also looked scared. But mostly just madly pissed at me.

"Why did you shove me?" I ask back confused, now shifting lightly, she hit me in my arm, harder with a fist now

"Seriously! Callie, stop!" I say keeping my calmness but she hit me to my shoulder again "YOU LIED TO ME! AND YOU LEFT ME!"

"Callie, stop…" I try to grab her hands in my, but I do not succeed with the first try and I get two more hits to my upper chest to shoulder region until I have her hands in my.

I pulled her close as she still struggles with my hold, trying to get out of it "I'm here…I'm home Callie. I'm OK…I am safe and sound. I'm home. Shh, I would never leave you! Never" I soothed her whispering in her ear and running my hand softly up and down her back as with my right I am holding, pressing her hands to my upper chest, making sure she won't hit me again.

Finally after a minute of struggling in my hands, she does calm down and when I risk it and let go of her hands, they fly around me and hug me tightly.

"I thought you left me" she says in my ear as we now are hugging one another. Her voice was full of emotion, I think she was holding back tears too, but I didn't see her eyes

"I would never ever leave you Callie. Please trust me!" I tell her without hesitating

"I do" she says after a beat. I sight in relief when she says that.

"Why did you lie to me?" she asks next still in embrace

"I am sorry that I did, but I can explain everything. And I will. I promise. I will explain everything to you. Can we just get inside first?" I say back and she leans out of the hug, I look to my right

"Is Stef here?" I ask seeing Stef car parked just by the house

"Mm-hmm. I called her. You said you were with her and you weren't picking up, so I thought Stef will know how long will you two be away or were you are so, I called her. I was worried about you" Callie explains

"I need to talk to her actually" I say and lock the car and walk in.

When we walked in Stef was just standing by the stairs. Elbow leaned on the banister. I saw her gun and shied by her side. Callie really must have been scared that she called her, and that Stef came in full gear. I bet her vest is in the back of the black SUV. But also, the moment we walked in, I saw her eyes. I saw the look in her eyes. She knew too. Stef somehow knew too. I guess that makes the talk we need to have a bit easier. But not by much.

I put my bag down and look back up to Stef "We need to talk" she nods in agreement.

Stef POV

I was looking at the few pictures that were on the shelf in the living room waiting till Amy and Callie talk in the corridor. There were many pictures around the house. Most of them were of Amy's husband and son who died. Their son looked like exact match of Amy's husband. Replica. I wish I had actually met Markus, before he died.

"Here is 20….go to our Pizza place and order us a pizza" I hear Amy say to Callie in the hallway

"You want me to go…to a 'Chili Pizza' 4 km away to just order a pizza? We can call in! We always call in! You just got home and now you _are sending_ me away?" Callie said back to her

"We are going to talk after. And I will tell you everything, where I was, who I saw, who I talked to – I promise you. But right now I need a minute alone with Stef. Also I am giving you the chance to be outside the house after curfew! You should take it!"

There was a brief pause in the chatter, but then Amy added "Oh and buy a big soda too! Take extra-large. Stef is here"

I pick up the picture that had her and Callie. It looked like it was taken by a phone, Amy's hand looked extended just in the right lower corner of the photo. Callie had lean her head to Amy's shoulder, both of them were smiling.

"You want extra cheese too?" Callie asks as I hear the doors open

"Yes please. Thank you Callie" Amy replies to Callie and I see her place a quick kiss back "Hurry back home" I place the photo frame back where it was and turn to Amy.

She walks in the living room and peaks out of window, looking how Callie gets in the car and drives away.

"You know that she has a room upstairs yes?" I smirk and point upstairs

"I also know she would not stay there for long. This way we have maybe 30 minute to talk alone instead of 30 seconds till there are two ears listening in on us. She has mad sneaking skills" Amy says back with a small smirk on her lips. I chuckle back and then we both stand in the room, looking to one another, not knowing what to say.

Amy POV

Stef rubs her temples then takes her hand thought hair "So…" she rubs her hands at her jeans

"So" I wasn't sure how to start this conversation as well. We looked at one another for a minute till I finally reach in my back pocket just when she says

"You want to tell me where you were whole day worrying Callie like that?" she asks first

"Around" I say and take out my phone and make few clicks

"That's what you are going with? Around? You are no better than my kids" she says back a bit upset and I hold the phone out to her

"I got this" I say and show her a picture on my phone

She takes me phone and looks at it for a moment "How did you find out?"

Stef sat down on the armchair as I took the seat on the couch, she was still looking at the picture. I see her smile a bit at it, just her right side of lip went up for a moment, looking at the picture

"After the finale. In the hall. I was looking at Jude and…well, I saw her looking back at me. That's when I first thought of it anyway. It was just a crazy idea in my head at that point - that they do actually look alike. When I saw him, I knew at the moment that there was something _familiar_ in him." I keep looking to her as I explain it to her "How did _you_ found out?" I ask her back

"Can you send this to my email?" Stef asks first and hands me back my phone.

"Of course" I say and start to do that as I take the phone back

"Well, I saw it first in picture too. On your laptop, I opened the picture you got of Jude, Callie was just standing there. I asked her about Lompoc Federal prison. And she said her step-father is there," she explains it to me as I send the picture to her email

"Donald Jacobs" I say back looking up to her

"Yeah. He is…he is Jude's father" Stef says it slowly nodding her head "Is this…" she points to the phone

"The last picture of Jude, Callie and Donald together. Taken 4 months before their mom died. The only picture he had of both of them. Donald gave it to me to take a picture of. Told me this was the only thing he had of the kids, couldn't give it away. All he had left" I say back just thinking about how sad he looked when he was looking at the picture himself

"Wait…isn't he in prison?" Stef asks back now sitting up more straighter. I look at the picture myself again. It was the three of them sitting on the stairs in front of their home. Donald had both kids sat on his knees. All smiling to the camera. It was a sweet picture.

"Um..." I lock the screen of my phone when Stef exclaims "Don't tell me he is out!"

_Flashback few hours ago_

_I was sitting in the waiting room of the prison. As my patient got short, I stood up again and walked to the front desk._

_"Can I talk to whoever is in charge here?" I demand_

_"Lady…sit your ass down and wait like the rest!" the mean, tall, bald looking security guard behind the desk said to me and pointed to where I had sat just seconds ago. _

_I shake my head and not wanting to cause any trouble, walk back to sit down. Over 3 hour drive, and now I am just sitting here, for an hour! Waiting for God knows what! Some 10 minutes later I was called to the same desk _

_"Can I see him now?" I ask eager to actually meet the infamous Donald Jacobs_

_"Yeah…he is not here!" he says chewing his gum loudly, not giving a damn _

_"What do you mean?" I ask back surprised by his answer. He was serving 6 years, it has been only 5 and few months. _

_"He got out few weeks ago for good behavior!" _

_I slam my hand down in anger "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! I SAT HERE FOR OVER AN HOUR and now you tell me HE IS NOT HERE!" I put all my anger out on the security guard because he actually pissed me off too. _

_"Not my problem lady!" he just grumbles back and calls the next person up to the desk_

_"ASSHOLE! EVERYONE IN THIS FUCKING BUILDING IS AN ASSHOLE!" I kick the chairs but no one really cares that I just threw a tantrum. The people who were sat in the room didn't even look up. No one cared. Maybe because they all thought the same thing._

_"Where were the hell is he now?" I ask the man back as I walked back up to the desk_

_"Don't know. Don't care" he says back and talks back to the man_

_"UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE! THIS FUCKING GODDAMN PLACE….! BUNCH OF IDIOTS! COULDN'T TELL ME THAT…UGH." I walk out to my car and just for a while sit there. Then in anger I even slam my hands to the steering wheel few times. _

_After I calmed down a bit I sat peacefully in the car, thinking what to do next. I needed to find out where he lives now – I say to myself. I start the engine and drive back to San Diego to my precinct to search it up. There has to be a record or his PO should know. Someone knows. And I will find out too._

_End of Flashback_

"So where is he now?" Stef asks curious after I explain where I was most of the day. Her posture stayed the same, not shaken at all by the news.

"He lives in a small apartment over the Lexington Street. I can give you address if you want. He works at some car shop. He has settled in pretty good considering he was in jail 3 months ago. Actually he was a nice guy. He knew that he hurt the kids. That he did wrong. He feels guilty enough. It was written all over his face. That's why he said- it came easy for him to sign the papers for both of them and that he had hurt them, and he doesn't want to hurt them ever again," I lean back in the couch and cross my other leg over and, very similar to Callie, I rub my nose

"But Callie and you two said he was her step-father" Stef catches up on that

"He is. When I started the adoption, she was sure he was her dad too. You know, she never even doubted that. Remembered him always being there, grew up with him. The judge said there was something wrong with her birth certificate and it turned out her real birth father was some guy named Robert Quinn."

She takes a moment, and sits quietly, not saying anything, just looking down to her hands that were pressed over her knees

"Jude never told us he had a sister. He never…mentioned anything like that! And when you first told me Callie's surname, that it was Jacobs, for a moment" she chuckles a bit, but not because she was laughing or anything "for a moment I thought what if. You know, but….then I started to think that…there are probably many more Jacobs out there. Just like Smiths or Browns. If Jude, had told us, mentioned her _once. One time_, that he had a sibling…." She kept her eyes down on the floor. I think she felt guilty in some way.

"It isn't your fault. Or Jude's. Nor it is my. What I don't get is why the system didn't try and at least…reconnect the siblings. I have read up and they usually say that if siblings are separated the system itself informs both families, set up some visitation, allow to call or write letters at least. Tell where they are. In our case - neither of us knew. And the system didn't even care."

"So…" Stef looks up to me, there was a moment of silence till she asks "What are we going to do now?"


	9. Chapter 9

Callie POV

This pizza place was oddly full taking in the fact that it was now over 11 PM .I am still a bit hurt because Amy wanted to talk to Stef first, after she was, in my mind, missing for over 12 hours. I needed the answers first, but she wants to talk to Stef first and sends me out of house to get a pizza. Either something was seriously wrong or it was about me. In my mind, this time, it was both. And that made this wait even more nerve wrecking that it already was.

When things in general are about me - they are never good. Maybe I am just always too paranoid? Maybe, I am over thinking this? It has happened before. I guess, this over thinking and paranoid thing, is a trait I have picked up from my first 4 years of being in foster care.

"Callie Scott!" the waitress calls holding the big box of pizza for me. I jump up from sitting at the table, with the big soda in my hand and take the pica, then head to car and home.

In 5 minutes I am through the front doors and I announce loudly "Pizza is here!"

I kick off my shoes and step in to living room. I stop. The big smile on my face slowly disappears as I see mom and Stef both standing up with these expressions like something is wrong. The grim reaper expression. Please let this be me over reading both of them. That I am seeing something on their faces that isn't there.

"What?" I drag slowly as I look between both of them

"Callie we need to talk" mom says in a voice that tells me it is something serious, that need my full attention

"What about the pizza? It is still hot," I ask back, she sent me out for pizza for a reason and I was dam hungry as I haven't eaten anything in hours and the fact that it was smelling so good next to me wasn't helping at all.

"I'm…actually for pizza first too" Stef says and point to pizza box in my hand "It smells real good" she says

Mom gives her a look "Seriously?" she asks back lifting her arms up from her side

"Sorry, I'm hungry. You know me. I like food" Stef chuckles at herself

"What did we talk about 2 minutes ago?" mom now whispers to Stef

"It's 10 minutes. We are not going anywhere, Amy" Stef tries to reason with her

"Ugh…fine. I will get the glasses and napkins" she mumbles and walks to kitchen. I set the food down and Stef rubs her hands as I open it and breathes in the pizza smell, closes her eyes enjoying the pizza scent "That hungry?"

"I had supper at 5…it has been over 6 hours. Of course I am hungry. Who can say no to this!" I chuckle at her and mom walks back in and the next 15 minute as we eat we talk about all kinds of pica and hot dogs and grilling, and Stef explains some marinade recipe for mom, for grilling.

I was stuffing the past piece of the pizza in my mouth, mom was already done - just cleaning her hands in napkin, but Stef was drinking on the soda to wash it all down.

"I found your brother" mom says so simple and tosses the napkin on table

"What?" - Is what I wanted to say, but all I got out was just some sound that was muffed by the pizza in my mouth.

Mom stands up, picks up the empty pizza box and takes the dirty napkins with her and walks to kitchen to throw them out. I started chewing real fast, but the fact that the bite I shoved in my mouth, was too big and I couldn't really chew the food in my mouth, I decided to change my tactics to just me jumping up and spitting the pizza out of my mouth to my hand. I saw how Stef screwed up her face in a light disgusting look and then even smirked at me.

"WHAT!?" I know call after mom loudly

Mom walks back in matter of seconds "Well where is he!? How did you find him? Is he ok? Is he in San Diego? Can I see him? Did you see him? Does he remember me? Have you-"

"Slow down there chipmunk" mom says and sips some soda too as she sat down "Sit down…and either eat that or throw it away. Because that is just nasty" she shakes her head at me as I was holding the half chewed pizza in my hand "And we have a guest" she gestures to Stef

"Tell me!" I said back eager and threw the chewed pizza bite on my napkin and folded it over. I was no longer hungry. All I wanted was to know about Jude. Everything there is to know.

"He's with Stef and Lena" she says and Stef just smiles back at me

"What…do you mean…he is with Stef and Lena?" I ask slowly as I am sitting down, eying then mom, then Stef, then mom again

"I mean - he is with Stef and Lena" she says now slower and with certainty in her voice that tells me she is not lying. That she knows where he is. She knows where Jude is. And she is proud of that she had found him.

"Aha….but what…does that mean?" I ask still shocked to even hear it. I still hadn't really processed the news. The news that he was so close. That I could have seen him after the finale! I was just stunned.

"Stef and Lena adopted him 6 years ago" Mom explains

"So," I drag real long "You are saying…that, you had him...all this time and didn't want me to find him?" I say in accusing tone to Stef

"No, of course not Callie. If we had known…neither Bill nor Jude told us, okay. You have to trust me on that. If I…" she put hand on her chest "we had known, we would have contacted you right away. Like we are telling you know! But we didn't know, Callie."

Part of me wanted to not believe her right now. The truth was I did believe her. I believed she was telling me the truth. That she didn't know. Her face, her eyes, they looked like they were telling the truth. Can I be mad at her? Am I allowed to be mad? I really want to be mad at someone right now, and Stef is the one person I could be mad right now.

"Jude never told you?" I say more to myself, as a reminder how I begged him not to tell anyone 6 years ago, but I guess it sounded more like a question.

"No" Stef shook her head. I told him to not tell them. He kept the promise that he made, before we were split up. The promise that, if he had broken, would have led to Stef knowing and us possibly being reunited faster.

Right now I am scolding my 10 year old me for even making Jude promise that. It was one of the dumbest things I have ever done. I was so scared that night. I have never been so scared in my entire life. So in the end, I am the reason this has been so hard. Me, not the system.

"I need to see him" I spit out fast and then look to Stef "Can I see him? Is he OK? Does he know where I am?" I look back to mom

"He doesn't. We just found out today" mom says and looks to Stef "She hasn't had the chance to even tell Lena" mom looks back to me "and we think" mom gestured between herself and Stef "that they should be the ones to tell him. That they even know about you. And, you know, just talk it thought first, about why he didn't tell them"

"I told him" I mumble back to them, not she if they picked up on that

"What?" Stef asks surprised

I slowly lift my gaze up to Stef "The day we got separated, I told him to not tell. I made him promise to not tell anyone about me, because a foster kid in my class told us in school of how horrible the foster system is and how mean the foster parents are. So I told him to promise not to tell anyone about me"

Stef shifts in her seat and straightens her back a bit "It seems that Jude kept your promise" Stef says back quietly and looks to Amy

"But I broke my" I say sadly and look down to my hands, and then bury my face in my hands

"How so?" mom asks now placing hand on my knee. I lift my head up and out of the hiding "I promised him I would find him, and take him away, and we would be living someplace away, just the two of us. I said I would find him on my 16th. I broke my promise"

"But you did find him, Callie" mom says and now takes my hand in hers

"NO" I raise my voice "YOU DID! NOT me…I broke my promise when he kept his!"

I stood up fast, pulled my hand away from her and run upstairs to my bedroom. Slammed the doors shut and slide down them with my back to them, till I hit the ground.

I pulled up my legs and put my arms around them, leaned my head down on my knees as a tear rolls down my cheek. I was so mad and angry at myself. More to the 16 year old me, not the 10 year old me. I broke my promise, when he kept his. I am the worst sister ever. He will never forgive me. I will never forgive myself.

Some while later, I hear the front doors open and close, I hear footsteps up the stairs and to my room "Callie?" mom asks quietly

"Leave me alone" I say back harshly, but I don't hear her walking away. Instead I hear her sitting down on the ground on the other side of the doors

"You know damn well I can't do that and I won't do that" I hear from the other side of the doors.

I lean my head back "I broke my promise to him" I say back miserably thought the door

"What did you promise him again?" she asks and I heard her shift on the other side of the door

"That I will find him when I will be 16 and I will take him out and we will live alone, just the two of us"

"Ok, you broke the promise" I am taken by surprise that she says that. She is supposed to help me get over this or talk some sense into me, this is not what I need. Tell me I was wrong, that I didn't break the promise. Something along those lines. Not **_that_**!

I quickly call out to her, stopping her in her sentence "What!? That's not helping MOM!" I even turn my head to doors

"You didn't let me finish Callie. I was going to say you are going to break the second part of it. Because only over my dead body will I ever allow you to take that sweet boy out of his home, kidnap him and run away from your own. Besides if you would be doing that, we would hunt you down in matter of seconds and you would be forever my little mini me, walking in a short leash from me! So yes, you are going to break that promise, SO suck it UP!"

I screw up my face as I take in her little speech. It was not a typical speech for her. I scoot aside and reach up for the door nub, turn it and open them. Mom doesn't even bother to stand up, she crawls in the room, closes the doors back up

"That speech was a bit unexpected…" I smirk at her as she rubs the back of her neck as she leans back to doors again

"Did it work?"

"Yeah…a bit" I drag slowly now picking my own fingers

"Honey, look at me" she says softly and when I hesitate too long, her hand moves under my chin, and lifts it up so I would be looking at her eyes "you did not break the promise. You found him. I don't know him, I have only see him, but I can sure as hell, bet my life on, that boy hasn't got one mean bone in him. Especially towards you. And you can't possibly know what he is feeling or how he will be reacting when he sees you. So even, if your brain" she taps on the top of my head "Your crazy little brain, is telling you all the worse possible outcomes and keeping you awake reliving them in your imagination over and over" she takes my right hand now "I am here, believing in the best outcome. Okay. I believe in you. Always have and always will. Even in times when you doubt yourself or when your confidence is lost, or when you don't believe in yourself," she looks deep in my eyes, piercing thought the wall that had built up again "I am telling you -the boy loves you. He will always love you. Jude won't care that you were few months late when you find him. He just won't care. You know why?"

"Why?" I ask not knowing the answer

"Because you two will have each other back. And that is all that matters," she takes a short moment before she pulls me in a tight hug. I wrap my arms tightly around her. I hang on to her like my life depends on it, I pull lightly on her shirt

"Hey, hey…don't stretch that, you know it is new!" I lean out and chuckle, she smiles back at me

"Nah, you can stretch it." I go in for another much needed hug, but she stops me, and I let my hands fall down again

"You know, on other hand - no," she puts her hand up, showing stop " I think this can become one of my favorite shirts. It is very soft and fluffy," she says very serious standing up, feeling the fabric "super comfortable, I would hate for someone's little hands to stretch it out" she winks at me

"Come on…let's go grab ourselves a big box of ice cream instead. I will tell you all about what I did today and who I saw"

She waits till I take her hand and then I follow her down, smiling after her. As we walk down, she briefly looks back "Oh, we could eat it in bed!" she looks back to steps "What do you think?

"I think I would love that" she stops me before I take the last step down

"Then head back up, get in PJ! And grab the big fluffy blanket from the closet. Go! I will get the ice cream and two big spoons! Meet me in my room. ETA 2 minutes! Go, go, go!" she ushers me up and hurries to kitchen calling the orders as I hurry back upstairs to get ready for slumber, ice cream PJ party.

Silly how I like spending time with mom. Which 16 year old likes that. Usually at this age kids want to be on their own, sneak out and try drugs or alcohol. Not me. I just love to spend time with my mom. Mostly because I have someone I can spend time with. When you are alone for 4 years, you kind of start to miss the little things. I won't ever take her for granted. I will spend all the time I have with her, just making memories. I hope I can do that with Jude too, just make new memories with him.


	10. Chapter 10

Amy POV

I don't consider myself as a mean person. I don't. I am nice to strangers, polite (most of the times), friendly, I have helped older people to change tiers and cross the road, I make a mean pasta, I think I smile a lot too. I am a nice person, I work at job that makes this city safer. I am a good person.

But watching how Callie has been pacing around the whole house this morning, all worked up and anxious for the call from Stef that says we can go and see her brother, made me laugh at her a bit.

And she took it as if I was being mean to her. But honestly, seeing her so nervous and worked up, she has changed her clothes for the 10th time now, I couldn't help but chuckle, as she now stood by the stairs showing me her next outfit to wear.

"Are you laughing at me!" she threw her arms up as she said to me in accusing tone, as I let out a small chuckle again seeing just how cute she was right now "Seriously mom! This is important to me and you are laughing. I can't believe you!" she said being frustrated with me and turns on heel around and stormed up again.

"Callie! Come on! I didn't mean it!" I call after and then I hear her bedroom doors slam close. I dip my head down and follow her up. I knock and when I enter she was by her closet, looking for yet another outfit to wear.

"I am sorry Callie. I wasn't laughing at you. You are just so worked up about meeting him, you are cute when you are so anxious, sweetheart" I say meaning it, walk over to her and wrap my hands around her, she stops going thought her closet "I'm sorry Callie. I'm sorry"

"Fine, fine…forgiven" she gets out my hold and turns to me holding a new shirt up "What about this? Does this tell them – I have not been to Juvenile Detention?"

"I didn't know clothes can say that" I say carefully not wanting to hurt her feelings yet again briefly scratching my temple

"Then tell me what to wear!" she drops the shirt to the bed. The room right now looked like a mine, shirts and pants were on the bed, on the table, the floor. It was complete mess.

I sight and walk to the closet, pulling her away from it "Okay…" I dig thought the drawer now, and pull out a simple black and white sweater that have buttons in front and she can close it or walk with it open "How about this?"

She quickly takes off her current shirt and puts on the one I was holding "Good?" she looks down to the shirt then up to me

"Perfect" I smile to her

"Perfect for you or for them too?" she asks me back. This right now, was me over 25 years back when I was asking my mom the same thing when I was going to my boyfriend's house to meet his parents

"Callie, you need to relax. I don't understand why you are so worked up" I say calmly and walk to bed to sit down, still keeping my eyes on her

"What if they don't like me?" she pulls lightly on her sweater

"Honey..." I say not believing she thinks so low of herself "They already know and like you"

"What if Jude won't remember me?" she looks with such sad eyes to me, so scared of that

"How can he forget you?" I say with certainty back

"Will hate me?"

"He won't!" I keep my tone the same

"Won't like me?"

"He will!"

"What do I talk to him about?"

"Anything. Anything at all. It will all come to you when you will see him," I say and walk to her to put hands on her shoulders for support, but my phone rings

"Pick it up, pick up!" she ushers me not standing still, bouncing up and down

"Don't jump out of your short, Missy" I say picking up. I do just a little talking, just few mm-hmm, aha, OK and then I hang up. "

"Well?" Callie asks still bouncing up and down, rubbing her hands together

"We can come in hour or so" I say putting my phone away

"In hour! Oh COME ON!" she whines "What am I going to for an HOUR! FRAK!" she looks down to herself, lifts her arm up "I have sweat like Mike Tyson after 4 rounds or something…I will take a shower" she runs out to corridor

"You had shower" but she is already in bathroom, and I hear the water running when I finish my statement "-this morning " shaking my head I take few steps back and fall down on her bed, put my hand over my eyes and rest.

Jude POV

_Flashback this morning_

_I was sitting opposite moms in the kitchen "Am I in trouble? Because I didn't do what Jesus said I did! He is lying" I ask as I was staring to break under moms intense looks_

_"We will talk about what you and Jesus did or didn't do later" mama says after she shares a look with mom smiling at her "Right now, me and mom want to talk about something different" I briefly look away from both of them_

_"Is it my grade card? I know I can do better in math…but the teacher is mean and she said she can't give me B+…" I say as I think this is the only other thing moms could want to talk about_

_"Baby, it is not about your grade card either. Can you please let me and mom talk?" mama ask softly and reach over for my hand on the table, softly rubbing thumb over my palm _

_"Okay" I agree slowly not really wanting to know what comes next_

_"We are not sure how to say it bud" mom starts "so I am just…going to say it out, okay" I just nod back, holding my breath "We know you have a sister" mom says and honestly I felt relived. Like a big rock was off my shoulders. But I was also confused, as to know they knew._

_After few seconds of silence I speak up quietly "H-how…did you found out?" I ask looking between moms_

_"Well, you know my friend Amy, from work. My partner?" mom asks me, I just nod back "Well, Amy has a daughter, who she adopted just like we adopted you. That daughter is Callie and both of them have been looking for you ever since she has been adopted. I found out yesterday when I went to see Callie after she called me late last night. That's when I found out and I told mama when I got home"_

_"Callie…looked for me?" I ask as I remember her promise that she will look for me. _

_"Yeah, she did. For a long time, love" mom smiles at him_

_"Baby, why didn't you tell us, you had a sister?" mama ask gently looking into straight to my eyes_

_"Callie said to never tell anyone. She said people could use it to hurt me. She made me promise. Callie never broke any promises so I couldn't break my" I explained to both of them. There was no more reason to hide it. The truth was out. I ask back "Is she okay?"_

_"She is good honey. She is in a good home. Loving home. She just real badly wants to see you" mom replays and takes my other hand _

_"I want to see her too" I quickly add back to that_

_"Good because, we thought we could invite Amy and Callie over to our house" I briefly glance to mom, I think practically jumped up _

_"Yes, yes, yes please. Can she come over today?"_

_"That's what we thought too, bud" mom smiles at me and so dose mama. _

_End of flashback_

I stood in front of the mirror for some time now. My tie looks crooked and it looks not tied the right way, mama taught me to tie it. Mom usually leaves the ties tied up, but I had opened it up, wanting to tie it myself.

I take of my tie and open it up. I sit on my bed and open the top drawer and take out the small paper that had step-by-step instructions on how to tie it. After trying for some 10 minutes I give up. It does not look right. I take the note and my tie and walk downstairs. I hear B and Jesus bickering as they play a game in living room. But I head to kitchen where I knew moms where in.

"Mama?" I say walking up mama, she was by the stove making dinner for us and Callie and Amy. She turns and I see her eyes light up when she looks at me "Can you help me tie my tie?"

"Baby…" she looks down to me "I don't think you had to wear your best suit for this"

"I wanted to look nice" she crouches down to me and crease my cheek gently , she then looks over my shoulder to the nook I guess "Honey look at our sweet baby boy" she says to mom and I hear footsteps over to me and also little ones too, Frankie was with mom

"Love" Stef crouches down too "I don't think you need to dress all formal." mom says slowly to me

"I want her to like me" I say back looking to my tie in my hands

"Baby, she already likes you. Callie is your sister. I doubt she would care if you are all dressed up or if you wear swimmers, or dressed in one of those hot dog costumes. She doesn't care about that. She loves you already, unconditionally" mama says to me and I see mom nod, agreeing to what mama said too

"You are pretty" Frankie says and reaches for my sleeve to pull on it

"Handsome. Boys look handsome. Girls look pretty" mama corrects her

"Well…what do I wear then?" I ask them back

"Let's go find something for you" mama stands up "watch the sauce Stef" she says to mom and I follow her out and up.

Mama hangs up my suit and gives me my dark jeans and light blue and grey shirt.

"How can you be sure she will like me?" I ask pulling the shirt over my head and then comb my hair with my hand, ruining fingers thought them.

"She is your sister. She loves you and she has been trying to find you for the last two years. There is no doubt in my mind she will like you" she says and sounds so wise like always. I can't not believe her, she is always right. Always has been.

"Do you think I should paint my nails blue?" I ask looking to my nails and then up to her

"If you want to, of course. You can probably ask Mariana, she will be happy to help you with that" with a hurried step I walk to the girls room in search for Mariana

"What's up Judicorn?" she asks from her bed as she was painting her own nails

"Can you paint my nails?" she looks up as she puts the nail polish away after finishing her left hand

"Blue?" she asks knowing my style, I nod back "Of course. Get your color I will just dry my and then I will do yours"

I hurry to her box and find the right kind of blue, sit on her bed "This one" I put it down

"Excellent choice" she smiles at me "I don't think you have a reason to be worried Jude" she says reading me like an open book

"I haven't seen her for 6 years. How can I not be nervous? Were you and Jesus ever separated in foster care?"

"No, we were always together through it all" she says slowly "In a way we were luckily, but in a way we were not"

"What do you mean?" I ask and pull up my legs up and sit on them

"Well…um, we were luckily because we were always together, but that kind of put us in bad homes before we got to Stef and Lena, because rarely foster parents want two kids. Let alone two kids at our age. So we were unlucky at the same time," She takes the nail polish and starts to paint my nails.

I never knew why we were separated. Bill just took me away from Callie. He never said why. Does Callie knows why?


	11. Chapter 11

Callie POV

I could tell we were getting closer to the house as mom started to drive slower and she kept looking to the houses and mumbles a number – 2330. I looked to the houses on my right, the one we were next to now read 2889. So yeah, we were getting closer.

This block was really nice. All the houses were pretty similar looking, mostly two stories, flowers around them, some tree in back, small driveway, and garage. Nice place to raise a family, for sure.

"There it is" mom said and almost stopped, but then she turned around and parked neatly by the side of the road, just in front of the house. That is when my small panic attack hit me.

The moment I looked to the house, I undid the seatbelt and slide down the seat more and mumbled

"I feel like I am going to barf" I said as I was anxious and nervous and scared out of my mind right now, my heart was racing. This was basically it, I am 15 steps away from where Jude is. And that for me was…still is huge. And I was pretty sure there is no turning back now.

"What are you doing?" mom asked as she was unbuckling her seat belt

"Hiding" I say and cover my face with my palms. I was so low in the seat that I was pretty sure no one from outside, granted standing few feet away, couldn't tell mom had a passenger.

"What happened to asking – can we go now-" she says impersonating my voice "28 times in the last 45 minutes. And yes I counted!"

I don't even look to her, I just mumble back" I don't know." I was even scared to look at the house.

"Come on, let's go!" she says excited and reaches for her bag on the backseat

"No, no" I reach for her as she takes her bag from back, my hand was now griping hers "Can't we like hide for few more minutes? Please mom, please…I don't think I can do this!"

"And what will hiding do, huh?" she asks lifting my fingers one by one up from her hand with her other hand, I shrug back

"Maybe I will get my confidence back. Because right now I feel like I have lost it and by the time I was looking for it, someone drove over and over and over it again. And now it is like a pancake on the side of the road and soon the janitor or something will come with a scraper or something and scrape it off the road and will toss it away, along with other people confidences, the Devil has ordered to take from…." I mumble some weird crazy thoughts that were in my head just looking blankly at the front panel of the car.

As I was picturing my confidence being shattered to pieces, I hear the doors close and look to mom's side, she is now walking around the car, around the front and coming with a very determined look on her face to my side of the car, before I know it, she has opened the side doors and is looking down to me.

"Talk to me" she kneels down "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so scared!? What happened in the 18 minute drive to here?"

"I don't know. I feel like I am not…good enough for Jude. I should just leave him alone. Crawl back to the dark hole I came from or—"

"Stop!" she says sternly "You are good enough! And no, you do not get to leave him alone! You do not get to run away! Your brother, your baby brother, is right there!" she points back to the house "Right there! You are **_this _**close to seeing him. You found him, after 6 years you found **_him_**! And you can see him again! How can you run away from **_that_**!? How can you give up on the boy?"

"You found him" I say quietly back not able to look up to her eyes

"NO! You were the one who came to me! You were the one who never gave up! You are the one, who convinced me to keep trying to find him! I saw him because of you! I put the pieces together because of you! If it weren't for your love of music, for your passion about finding him and coming to me over and over again, we would not be here right now. It was you who found him, not me" she puts hands on my knee, takes a small pause to let me swallow just what she has said, then she asks again, very calmly "Can you honestly look in my eyes and tell me you do not want to see him?"

Mhe taps on my knee, till I finally turn to her and lift my legs out, now looking to her. I don't know what to say so I say nothing.

"Do you remember what you told me, after Aaron and Markus died?" she asks with tears in her eyes

_Flashback 5 weeks after the death of Markus and Aaron_

_I woke up again at night and I hear yet the same noise coming from Amy's room. The soft sobs that fill the house. The soft sobs that pierced thought the walls like bullets. I felt the pain she was in. She has barely said a word to me these past weeks. It is really quiet in this house until it is night. In the night it is filled with cries. But at days, it is painfully quiet._

_I put my blanket aside and slip out of the bed, and walk thought the dark to the corridor and after turning the door nub I walk in this time, first time, without knocking. She is barely holding on. _

_I wonder every day how she hasn't sent me away yet. I walk in the room and find her sitting on the ground, legs crossed under her, she was holding on to a picture of both of them, crying over it. She didn't even look up to me, but she didn't have to. I don't need her to look. I need her to listen me. _

_I walk over to the bed and take the blanket and the pillow. I drop the pillow just down by her and put the blanket around her shoulders. Sit down in front of her, my back to the end of the bed, the pillow in my lap. I put my hands softly on it as she continues to cry._

_Usually I just go sit with her and say nothing at all. I am just there with her, sitting with her on the cold floor, just saying that I am there for her without any words. But tonight I will try something different._

_I keep repeating the quote in my mind till I get the courage to voice it. _

_"__**You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. It's like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly—that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp." **__she slowly looks up to me with tears streaming down her cheek_

_I look back at her red eyes. "Anne Lamott" I say as I saw how she was asking me that, but I continue with my own words of wisdom _

_"I know how bad it hurts. I know how every morning when you woke up, just for few seconds, you forget what has happened. And when you __**do**__ remember, it all comes crashing down again. And it happens every morning. And I wish I could tell you it goes away, but the sad truth is that it doesn't. I still feel that way, but I still have to get up and move on with my life, and you need to do it too. Even after 4 years you will still have this hole in your heart of the shape of the person you lost. And even when people say '__**you will get thought this'**__, the truth is - you never will. But it does get better. It gets easier. Every morning it will hurt a bit less. And in time you will just learn to dance with the limp and live with the hole in your heart of the people you lost. It goes get better." I say and I barely keep my voice steady enough not to break down myself, just thinking about my mom._

_She keeps looking at me as tears still kept falling over her cheeks, until she gets out between the sobs "I miss them so much"_

_"I know" I say as she shifts and lays down, placing her head in my lap over the pillow, still holding the picture close to her heart._

_End of flashback_

"Your brother, is still here! Your one empty shape in your heart can be fixed. He is right there. You can fill the void in your heart. You can fix your leg and walk up straight. So get up, pic yourself up or I will and march over there and ring the bell with you over my shoulder. It is that simple. Don't make it harder than it is. You can fill back up your Jude shaped hole in your heart! I know you can. Don't miss this opportunity because you are scared! We are all scared! You are not the only one"

I looked over to the house behind her, took a deep breath, nodded and stood up.

"Thanks mom, I needed someone to tell me that" I kiss her cheek as stood up and make my way over to the house. Lift up my finger and press the doorbell button as I hold my breath.

Amy POV

I follow Callie up to the front doors and just as I take the 4 steps up, the doors are opened by Lena. It really amazes me how she always looks stunning. Even if she is dressed in simple jeans and dark, blue shirt that fell over her body so good. She looks better in jeans than I do in my formal. I hate it and at the same time love it.

"Hi, you are here! Come on in" she gestures in and Callie looks back to me, I take the hint and walk in first.

Callie follows me behind "I'm Lena. We haven't actually met, but Stef has told me a lot about you" she says to Callie, looking at her "Amy has mentioned you pretty often too"

Callie then replies quietly "Oh…"she smiles at me "Has she?"

"I...um…we are still discussing changing the schools and you name comes up pretty often then as you are the VP of Anchor Beach"

I put hand on Callie's shoulder, she lifts her head up slowly to me, but looks back down after a moment. There is a moment of silence, just for few seconds.

"Sorry for the delay, we had a little….hitch on our way here" I smile at her warmly, removing my arm from Callie's shoulder

"Oh, don't worry about it" she says back. I reach in my bag and take out the chocolate box we got them.

"This is for you and Stef, and the kids. Callie chose this, I hope you all like dark chocolate" I hold out the box

"You didn't have to" she says as she takes it "and we do like dark chocolate"

I heard footsteps and when I looked to stairs I saw the young boy, on the last steps. I quickly looked to Callie, Lena was in front of her so I guess she hadn't noticed him yet, right now she was actually more interested in the wooden floor.

Lena looks over her shoulder and notices Jude standing there "Amy…would you like some coffee? We could…talk about the school change, Stef and the others are just outside the back"

"I would love some coffee. Thank you. Also love to meet the others too" I say back and Callie looks up to me "We will be around, right over there" I inform her so she knows where to find me.

There is a little bit of confusion in her eyes, saying – why are you leaving me alone. But I give her back a reassuring smile and light shoulder squeeze, then follow Lena out of the corridor.

As I walk out, I look over my shoulder, I see how Callie looks up and sees Jude just standing on the steps. I could see the moment when her eyes light up as she sees him. And at that point I know, everything will turn out just perfect.


	12. Chapter 12

Callie POV

As Lena and Amy walk off, and I look up I see him standing on the stairs. We both just look to one another, till Jude takes the last steps down and now stands few steps in front of me.

It is hard to believe that he is actually here. Just a hand reach away from me. He stands, hands nervously placed on his tights. He is wearing simple jeans, a light blue and grey shirt that looked so good on him. His hair is longer than I remember, but who am I kidding, it was 6 years ago, of course it is longer.

A smile creeps on my lips as I look to him, I could just stand here and look at him all day, I wouldn't get bored. But I broke the silence after some minute

"Hi" I say simply as I stand by the doors still looking at him, head tilted slightly one way. My body starts to relax and the best way to see that was from my hands, how the fists that I had pulled up, now slowly release by my sides.

Looking at him right now, just seeing how happy he seems, makes me think I that I did the right thing. He got to a good family, in hole with one, so to say. He kept his innocence. And that is something I could never provide to him. Yes, I could and would protected him as much as I could. I would have done everything I had to, to keep him safe, but he would still have lost his innocence. I couldn't have saved him from everything. He would have seen things, how bad people can really get, the real world. He would have met the people who aren't afraid of hurting others, the people who wouldn't care about what he needs. Stef and Lena have obviously done it – they saved his innocence. They had protected him from the evil, that I have sadly seen firsthand, and at the same time Stef and Lena provided him with plenty of love. The love and care that he needed so much.

"Hi" he says back and we again just stand there, taking in one another's appearance.

Another minute go pass as we just smile at one another. I kept looking to his big brown eyes, he had mom's eyes. For me it felt like the time had stopped and there was no one else in this world, but me and him. I had totally forgotten where I was, because all that matters to me right now is standing right in front of me.

"Hi" I repeat myself again as I had forgotten I already said that, but he says it back too "Hi"

"Wow…you have really grown up. Last I saw you, you were this big" I say out loud the first thing that pops in my mind, and put my hand to leg, showing him how tall he was when I last saw him

"You haven't" he says back and I can't help but laugh out at that. He broke the pressure with a light joke. I take my lower lip between my teeth for a second, thinking about the next thing to say, but he got there first.

"Mama said I almost saw you before Christmas." then he explains further "at the music thing, you know with Brandon. Where you performed as well."

"How come you didn't?" I ask back curious, because I thought about that too.

In fact, that thought kept me awake last night. It kept bugging me – why hadn't he seen me? And what I had thought was that – he doesn't recognize me anymore. That thought honestly hurt, that my own brother wouldn't recognize me anymore.

He scratches his head "Yeah, well…I kind of got in trouble and I said some things to a mean lady who sat in front of us and insulted our family and mama took as all out of the auditorium to the hall, just when you had, supposedly, stepped on the stage. Mama gave us a lecture and all" he says awkwardly and shyly, many times just looking from ground to back up to me and then back to ground "I'm sorry I missed your performance. I'm sorry I missed **_you_** that day"

"Ah, don't worry about it. I wasn't that good anyway. Besides, how can I be mad if you stood up for your family? And I can never really be mad at you Jude, never could and never will be" I rub my nose as I was nervous as hell.

I was a proud of him that he stood up to his family. I bet they would stand up for him too, and that was just one more indicator that I made the right choice back then.

I didn't want there to be an awkward silence between us, when we don't know what to say to each other. Right now, in my mind it was going pretty decent. And the flow of conversation continues when Jude again spoke up

"Mom said you were really good," he adds back and now puts his hands in his jeans pockets

"I should be the one who needs to apologize really" he suddenly looks so confused to my statement.

Jude blinks his big brown eyes at me, tilts his head the other side "What do you mean? Why?"

"Well…" I drag my foot just around the floor "I broke my promise, when you had kept yours"

"You didn't break it. You are here, right? And by my calculations you are 16" he says partly repeating what mom told me. She has been telling me this all this time that he wouldn't be mad. Mom again was right. Note to me: never doubt mom ever again!

"But I still feel like I failed you Jude"

He stops me at once "You didn't" he says it with so much confidence I can't help but believe it.

"Really?" I ask just to give him a chance to change his mind about this. He nods back

"Good, cause that would suck big time" I say back happy that he doesn't hate me for that.

But he adds quickly to what I just said "Don't swear. Mama doesn't like when people swear. It is one of our rules"

"Sorry. I…I didn't mean to offend you or anything" I feel like I screwed up big time just now

"You didn't. We just don't swear or curse, or yell" he adds with a smile "it is not nice nor it is polite. And it is bad language that can also offend other people, so she doesn't want us to use that kind of language. Especially at home. So…um…"

"Got it" I smile back to him, happy that someone is teaching him all these nice thing. Teaching him about life. That is probably something I could ever taught him if we were together, I didn't know much about life and etiquette. I know only what Amy has taught me in the last two years. But he already is teaching me. I was so proud of him.

"Any other rules I should know while I am here?" I ask and now put my hands in pockets as I seemed to relax more, than I was 5 minutes ago

"Well…" he thinks about it for few seconds "there are actually many more rules"

"Is there anywhere I can read them?" I raise my eyebrow at him

"No, not really. Mom's just teach them to us" I smile happily at him. He smiles back, now rocks slightly from his toes to his heels, back and forth.

Gosh, how much I had missed his smile and his laugh. I don't ever want to miss his smile, or laugh. I don't want to forget it ever again.

"What?" he asks me as I just smiles at him I guess for little too long.

I shake my head, not breaking my eye contact with him I just missed you so much"

Jude stops rocking on his feet and now stands still, not moving, till he takes his hands out of his pockets

"Can I hug you?" I don't think I took even one second to respond

"I would love that" I reply and he hurries to me, throwing his arms around me. He presses his head to my chest.

I press my head to his head and put my arms around him as he says "I missed you too. You can't imagine how much I missed you. I thought about you every day. There wasn't one day when I wasn't thinking about you"

"I love you Jude" I say and kiss his top of the head and tighten my grip around him, pulling him closer to me. I never want to let go of him. I could stay like this forever. He was in my arms again. He was right here. I have my brother back. I waited so long for this moment right here. I waited too long. I lean a bit out of the hug and place a kiss on his forehead, after I stroke his cheek softly whipping away the tears he has streaming down his cheek. Then he pulls me in closer before I can do that to him, pressing his head back to my chest, listening to my heart beating, as I feel him breathing evenly against my body.

"Don't ever leave me Callie" he says as his voice crack at the end of that statement.

He spoke barely above whisper, but I hear it, and just the pleading and gentle tone in his voice, made myself tear up too, as it sounded so much like the 6 year old Jude I saw last.

"Never again" I whisper back to him, tightening the grip around him.

* * *

We stayed in each other embrace for some good 5 minutes at least. He leaned out first, looked up to me

"You should meet the rest of my family" he sounded really eager for me to meet them.

"Rest? Wait…how many exactly are there?"

"You know Brandon right?" he asks as he takes my hand and drags me the way Amy and Lena went

"Yeah…" I drag slowly back to him.

I look to left briefly and see all these picture frames up to the wall, there were so many. I caught a glimpse of a picture what looked like a wedding or something. It looked recent, but it was out of my sight faster than I thought and I couldn't see all the detail of it.

"Well, there are 5 of us and moms" he explained further as we walked, or he walked and dragged me after him

"Wait, 5! There are 5 of you!" I stop in my feet when we are in the kitchen. He stops too, still holding on to my hand, looking back at me

"I need a minute" I say and prepare myself to meet the rest of the family, beside Stef and Lena and Brandon who I know.

"Okay" he says and just stands there looking at me as I am looking behind him, through the window out to backyard.

I saw Amy talking to Stef and Lena, just sipping coffee as she went on. I think I saw a glimpse of his siblings. They were kicking some ball.

"Can I ask you something? I just need to clear one thing out" I ask looking back to the three adults

"Sure" he nods and waits for my question "When you talk about your mom…_moms_, which one is which?"

"Huh?" he seems to not understand my question

"Well, before, you said mama and mom…which one is which?" he smiles at me

"Simple. Mom is Stef and mama is Lena. It was that way before I came here. Mama said the story to that started when they started living together, I mean Lena, Stef and Brandon. Mom already had Brandon, so when the 3 of them moved in, later on Brandon started to call Lena mom too, they both always responded, so mom said that he can call Lena mama, and her mom, so they all know to which one he is referring to. And it just stick with that…"

"And the others…they are-" I glance again out to yard

"They will like you. Trust me"

There are those words again. Trust me. For a brief moment I doubted myself – did I trust Jude? Did I trust someone I hadn't talked and seen for over 6 years? Did I know him at all to trust? Maybe he was whole different boy I remember? I was different too. So how can I trust him?

But luckily he answered it for me.

"You are my sister! Of course they will like you!" the first sentence was the answer to my questions. He says confided about his own words, and I trusted him. He turns and still holding on my hand he walks me to the doors that lead to backyard and we stepped outside on the porch.

Lena POV

We were all sitting outside on the porch, by saying all I mean me, Stef and Amy. The other kids were playing ball with Frankie in the backyard, while the two formed Jacob siblings reunited.

I love the sound of Frankie laughing. In fact I fell in love with her voice when she first spoke and called me mama. Right now, her little feet were carrying her so fast over the yard as her little feet could. She was running towards the ball that Brandon kicked towards her just little bit to side.

"Na-ha!" Jesus scooped her up in his arms before Frankie could reach the ball "I can't allow you to win there my sweet baby sister" he says and lifts her up over his shoulder and kicks the ball back to Mariana, who then passes it to Brandon.

"Don't drop her Jesus!" I call again warning him, he gives me a look that he has given me too often now, basically saying –why on Earth would you even think I would ever drop her. I smile at him shaking my head in response to his response. Then I concentrate back to Amy who was now laughing along with Stef.

"I am telling you…she had tried on every sweater, every shirt she had at home…every combination possible. And then she even tried to go through my closest too" she chuckles at the end

"I guess the siblings are not that different then" Stef says after she stops laughing

"How so?" Amy asks and then sips her coffee and reaches for the cookies I had made this morning, as all the kids begged me to. I usually only made them on Christmas but all the kids begged for more as the first batch disappeared in under 6 hours after I made them.

"Jude came down dressed in his best suit, tie in his hands, as he had sadly, but utterly cute, failed to tie his tie. He looks so damn cute. Said he just wanted to look nice for her and he wanted her to like him, like that is a problem" Stef chuckles and looks to me "Back me up on this, love"

"She is telling the truth. He was so nervous. Jesus said he was bouncing around the room too." I add what Stef said.

After a brief pause I add "So, um, Stef said that Donald is out" I look to Amy wanting to hear it from her too

"Yes, he is. He was released few weeks back for good behavior. Lives like 20 minute drive from here. Has a job at a car shop."

"Did he say anything about…um…getting the kids back?" this right now was my biggest fear yet

"When I talked to him, he seemed like a really guilty looking man Lena. He admitted he did wrong, he admitted he hurt the kids, and he admitted her never wants to hurt them ever again so I am pretty sure you don't have to worry about anything here. Besides he signed the abandonment paper like years ago"

I know that was true, but I was still scared deep down, that he would want them back, somehow, sometime, find a way.

"And…what is your opinion about, letting the kids see them? You know, just maybe one time around year? Supervised visit?"

"I haven't really thought about it actually. Nor have I asked Callie about that. But, um…" Amy scratched her temple as she leaned forward and put the coffee cup on the coffee table in front of her "maybe it is not a bad idea. He is their father after all, and to cut the ties off completely, does seem incredibly cruel."

"But did he seem like, I don't know how to explain this, but, um….did he seem enough put together to see them? Were there any signs he was drinking?"

Amy looks to me confused, so I explain further "Um, Jude had mentioned, he used to drink sometimes, and there were few times when it got a little out of control….beside the car crash"

"I didn't see any bottles or beer around. The apartment actually looked cleaned. Not very personalized but clean." she says and just then the doors to house open. We all glance to the two siblings that walked out, hand in hand.

Callie POV

Everyone suddenly stopped. The other kids, who were playing ball before, stopped in their feet, as I see the ball, that was kicked by Brandon last, now just rolled over the grass and hit the big tree that grew in the back yard. Even the three grownups had stopped their chatter and were all looking to us.

"Took you long enough" Stef says with a big smile on her lips standing up from her seat, looks to her watch on her wrist "that was like some 15 minute reunion!" she winks at Jude and then calls to the others "Come on! Round up everyone!" waving her hand at them to come closer

The 4 other kids left the ball where it was last and all came closer. What I noticed first was that beside Brandon that I knew from Music school, everyone else was different ethnicity. Besides that, the boy and the girl that were the middle kids looked like twins. But maybe just brother and sister with close age. Like year between. I guess I will found out soon as I saw Stef walking behind them.

She put hand on Brandon's shoulder "You know Brandon. He is our oldest and my biological son" that I had already figured out on my own

She moved on to the two looking Latina kids "This is Jesus and Mariana. They are twins. They are year younger than the two of you" she looked to B first then back to me "We fostered them like 8 years ago and they have been adopted for now 6…5 years now" she wondered herself, looks like she was counting in her head, the boy gestured with his hand, something around that time, as the girl was just eyeing me up and down. Probably judging my choice of wardrobe. I knew I had to wear the black jeans instead of the ones I was wearing now. I made a fashion mistake and now I realize it as the girl barely visibly shakes her head looking at my jeans and shoes, like saying, those two things don't go together.

"And this" Stef picks up the little girl who had a pink shirt on, along with light blue shorts.

The shirt was the best shirt I have ever seen, it read on front ,black letters -**The favorite one for 4 years now**. The little girls skin color very similar to Lena's. Crazy wonderful, black and curly hair just fell over her shoulders, just like Lena's hair. And she had these small dimples in her cheeks. Just super cute. She looked like she was the Ctrl-V to Lena's Ctrl-C.

"This little one is Frankie, Lena's biological daughter" I am guessing a donor.

"How old are you, love?" Stef asks the little girl. She lifted up her left hand showing 4 and saying it too, quietly.

"Yes, you are four. Aren't you. my little - big girl!" she kisses her cheeks so many times the little girl started to giggle, also the dam cutest laugh ever. The little girl was just perfect.

"Guys" she then turned to the 3 oldest "This is Callie, Jude's sister" she informed them and now I actually felt like in the middle of the stage when all the lights were on me.

I slowly lifted my hand up "Hey"

I got bunch of different Hey, Hi, and Yo and Hello back, all at the same time. This should be fun, I think as I look at the 4 other kids.

They were all so different. I know Brandon was a music freak like me. The twins, Jesus looked really athletic and very confident about himself, as his twin sister also confident about herself, looked like was also big on fashion and arts and all girls stuff, celebrity gossip and school gossip type of girl. Looked like she also could be the one who occupies the bathroom the longest. I bet she listens to pop songs and reads fashion magazines. Wonder if her room is all pink? But the little one, well, all I could think of right now was – toys. Yup, she was still a little one, probably the most loved person in the house as she was the sweetest thing ever.

This was Jude's family. So in a way, I guess, they are all also my family.

Just then Jude yank his shirt lightly and moved my hand in the process too, as I was still holding on to his hand, too afraid to let go.

I look down to him to my right. He flashes the biggest smile I have ever seen on him, basically telling me – how awesome is my family. I can't help but smile back to him and then I step behind him, not letting go of him, I put my arms around him from behind, his hand still in my, giving me the feeling of security. I press my head to his left cheek from behind and whisper "Your family is my family too" and kiss cheek.


	13. Chapter 13

Amy POV

It turned out our timing ,when we got here and the two former Jacobs sibling reunion length, was perfectly timed as Lena's phone vibrated, just as the kids were all introduced to one another, indicating that dinner was ready.

"Oh, the chicken is ready" Lena says "Kids, help me set the table please" she said standing up, the three oldest did what they were asked without saying a word back. And that resulted us sitting at the big table in the dinner room not even 5 minutes later.

Stef and Lena were sitting at the end of the tables.

Callie and I were sat right in the middle at the side, on different sides, opposite one another. Frankie sat on my side closer to Lena, Mariana and Jesus were on my side too, just to my other side, closer to Stef. Callie was sitting next to Jude and Brandon.

Just as Jesus reached for the spoon that was in a big bowl of rice Lena said "Please, dig in"

There were all kind of bunch of bowls on the table, one had chicken other bowl had pork chop. Jesus had taken one of both already. Then there was rice, two bowl actually, one on each side of the table. Three kinds of salads. Sauce. Two kinds of drinks – orange juice and some lemonade. Also there was a plate that had swiss roll on it. Another plate that had cupcakes on. Lena had obviously worked her magic. Probably worked all morning long. Now I understand what Stef always talks about, how great of a cook Lena is.

"This looks amazing Lena" I say looking around the full table

"Wait till you taste it" Jesus said squirting some ketchup on his rice

"Well, Lena is an amazing cook. I stand nowhere close to her" Stef says from her end of the table.

The bowls moved around the table for some good 5 minutes till everyone had everything on their plates. It ended with my plate being so full like never before.

"I don't know if I can eat all I put on" Callie said quietly looking over to my plate now, seeing that I was in that same situation as she was.

"Don't worry about it Callie. If you can't, we have food containers" Lena said clearly hearing that as she was cutting the pork chop for Frankie.

"Plus…we have Jesus. He works like a food container himself" Jude jokes next to Callie, he looks up to her, waiting for her to react, and when Callie smiles down at him, Jude looks to Jesus and grins at his older brother too.

"Mom says I chew 35 times in a half a minute and work better than any garbage disposal unit ever made" Jesus jokes further getting a chuckle out of Callie as she takes her fork "Apparently I get the job done faster"

"Yeah, well, I will probably need one too. Do you rent him out?" Callie asks looking serious to Stef first then to Lena, finally cracking a small smile

"That would be 5 bucks for me" Mariana says back, grinning at her brother and then smiles at Callie

"Don't be silly, Mrs. Thing, even if we did rent him out for 5 bucks, we wouldn't earn back what we spend on him for 3 days only just on food. 10 bucks and I get 50%!" Stef says seriously back to Mariana

"40!"

Stef bargain back "35"

Mariana agrees "Deal!" both then smiles at one another and then Stef looks to Callie

"10 dollars and he is all yours" Callie chuckles lightly and then turns to look at Brandon who spoke up

"But we should warn you" Brandon said as he put down the glass "he also secretly eats your lunch if you leave it out and unattended!" Brandon looks to me "You still want one, our ORIGINAL Jesus food smasher 2014"

"He is an older version!" Jude adds next "I for one am a newer version" Jude says proudly "but I don't eat other's lunches"

Callie looked from Jesus to Jude "Sorry, Jesus. I will have to go with newer model" she puts her hand on Jude's shoulder and squeezes it lightly before turning back to her food

So that's how our conversation around the table started. The sibling light teasing was the main theme.

When we were all just sitting at our empty plates now -stuffed, the theme changed again.

"Callie, do you have any embarrassing Jude stories?" Lena asks and holds the cup up to Frankie as she drinks some more orange juice on top

"Um.." I could tell the question surprised Callie a bit, she rubber her nose as I could see her thinking about what to tell them "the first thing that pops in my mind is-" I looked to Jude, he seemed to be starting to blush, Callie looks to him next to her

"Well…" Callie quickly drank some orange juice and as she put the glass down she started.

"I think Jude was around her age" she nods to the youngest child "maybe closer to 5. Anyway, so, mom had bought these candies. Not hard candy, the ones like with a filling inside, covered in chocolate. I don't remember the name of them. And her and Donald were going out to some theater or something. So our neighbor Annie, do you remember her?" she stops the story and looks at Jude

"No, doesn't really ring a bell" he shakes his head and listens further

"She was like 17 then, but okay, she is not important in this story. So our parents left and Annie was on the phone with her boyfriend or something. I was reading a book in my room, when this one walked in-" she looks again back down to Jude, who just smiled up. It didn't seem like Jude remembers this story. Callie hadn't told me this one either. It was first time hearing it too for me.

"-and he of course saw that mom had bought the candy, it was his favorite. And mom said he would get some tomorrow. But Jude wanted one today. With my help, as I couldn't say no his big brown puppy dog eyes, I opened the cabinet and got the candy out. It was up high so he couldn't get them himself. And I gave him two. And then put the candy back. But not as high. And I went back to reading my book." She looks around the table and takes a small pause to drink some more orange juice

"So next morning, mom sits us both down, and asks us where the candy went. And Donald stood looking a bit angry behind her so I told her, that we took two. But mom says that they are all gone. So then Donald takes us to the living room. And I have to point out, so in the living room there was a cabinet on the floor, that was not in the corner but like placed diagonally, making this triangle-shaped empty space behind it. And apparently Jude had like, ate all the candy, and he didn't want parents to find out, so he didn't put the empty candy wrappers in trash, but he had tossed them all behind the cabinet, in the corner. He got rid of the evidence. But also he had chocolate stains on his PJ, so I am pretty sure mom knew from the begging it was all Jude."

Jude was blushing and was looking down, the other two boys were lightly laughing about that story. Lena looked so in aw of the kid. Probably thinking the same thing I was thinking – how sweet, little rebellious, but sweet. Poor kid just wanted some candy.

"How many candy did he ate?" Mariana asks

"I think it was like a good half kg bag, or even more. Safe to say plenty, because he had gotten so sick of the candy that he hasn't eaten one of those ever since." Callie replies back

Things really were going okay, until the desert was served and Mariana decided to start with the level 10 questions, that got Callie on edge quiet easily to be honest.

"So how many homes have you been in?" Mariana asks Callie when the chatter between the other kids had calmed down a bit

"I...um…." Callie looks down to her ice cream bowl

"You seem like the type who has been in more than 3…I think. You just look like it. Where did you live before Amy?" Mariana looks to me briefly. I don't really like where this is going. I see the light stress in Callie's eyes forming.

Callie cleared her throat and I could see how she was trying to find words to answer that

"Have you ever been in group homes? We almost went to one." she looks to Jesus "We were pretty sure we would stay there after we were dropped off at police station by our previous foster parents. So have you been? To group home I mean?" Mariana kept looking straight to Callie, waiting for an answer but before Callie could say anything she continued

"What was your first foster home like?" Callie just kept sitting there, blinking, not sure how to answer Mariana's questions

"How bummed where you when you find out your brother was adopted like 4 months in, but you were still bouncing foster homes?"

I looked up from my ice cream bowl to Callie. What I saw in her eyes, was the sight of a small panic attack forming.

"Excuse us" I say pushing my chair back, walking around the table, tap on Callie's shoulder, leaning to her ear "Follow me"

She blindly followed me out to the back porch. I closed the doors behind. Put hands on her cheek

"Breath honey, just breath. Can you take a deep breath for me?" I still saw the panic look in her eyes as she took the first deep breath. If it was even possible, I think I heard her heart beating 100 km/h. Her heart was going that fast

"That's it…and now out" she exhaled and closed her eyes that moment "Another deep in" I kept instructing her, talk her thought it "And out." It took some few more rounds till she seemed to calm down.

_Flashback 8 months in fostering Callie_

_I was woken up by the loud scream coming from Callie's bedroom. Not even thinking about I jumped up, tossing the blanket aside, and run to her room. I didn't even bother knocking. She was sitting on her bed, breathing heavily, shaking visibly by the nightmare yet again, sweat on her forehead, red eyes, some tears on her cheeks. _

_What I wanted was to hug her immediately but I know I needed to calm her down first. I sat on the bed side, put my hands slowly on her shoulder so she saw me to do that_

_"Take a deep breath in, Callie" _

_"Can't" she got out between her fast short and shallow breathes._

_I reached with my right for her hand, took it in my and then pressed it to my chest, so she would feel me breathing in, my chest raising. _

_"Together okay. Deep in" I took a deep breath in watching her closely, she took a breath, but it wasn't as deep and slow as I wanted _

_"Out" I breathe out and she did to. _

_I sat on the bed, talking to her the same instructions over and over again till she calmed down, and was breathing evenly and calmly. _

_"That's it. Feeling a bit better?" I ask gently as I sit on the bed for some time. She nods her head and then takes her hand to her eyes._

_I get up and walk to the drawer, take out a clean, dry shirt for her as the one she the one she was in now was all sweaty _

_"Put this on" I say and place it on her lap as I walk to kitchen to get her a glass of cool and soothing water, I also take a towel from the bathroom. _

_I get back to her room and she has now changed, the sweaty shirt in her hand. I put the towel over my shoulder _

_"Drink some" she looks to me asking what is that some trick or something "It is just clean water honey" I add and she finally reaches for the glass, letting go of the shirt. _

_I take the shirt instead and for now just place the shirt on the ground by her bed side. I sit down on the bed again, waiting till she drinks the water. I guess she was thirsty as she drank it all out. I took the glass from her when it was empty and placed it on the nightstand. Took the towel and just dried her forehead and the back of her neck from the sweat. _

_"I'm sorry" she mumbles as I place the towel aside too _

_"For what?"_

_"For waking you up again" she says as I pat her upper tight lightly and she scoot to the side, closer to the wall _

_"You don't have to be sorry Callie." I say and get in the bed next to her, put the blanket over me and then we both lower back down to the bed "You can't control what you are dreaming about. Or what you have your nightmares about. It is okay, Callie."_

_"I don't know why I keep getting them. The trial is long over and I haven't seen him since" she says and shifts in the bed, pressing her head to my shoulder as I wrap my arm around her _

_"You are healing sweetheart. It's okay."_

_"It felt so real" she says quietly and presses a bit closer to my side_

_End of Flashback_

"Talk to me" I coax, running my hand down her arm to her palm, till I take her palm in my hand

"She has lot of questions…I-too many, how can a person have—I can't even….she…" she was stuttering not really able to tell me a full sentence, looking between me and back in the house

"It's just Mariana. Stef warned me, that you need warm up to her. She is just a little diva. Once she starts to talk she can't stop. That's just the way she is. She didn't mean any harm" I smile to her

"She should be on the red carpet interviewing celebrities! It was too much, mom, I couldn't take it" she looks to me desperate, hoping I would understand her

"I know honey. That's why I dragged you out before it got too bad, didn't I?" I smile to her

"You did" she says slowly and nods, then looks back to me

"Crisis averted then. You can thank me with a back massage later" I joke back, she chuckles lightly back "You need a minute or will you come back inside with me?" I ask just to make sure

"Minute. I need a minute" I nod in understanding, lean in and kiss her cheek

"If you are not in after a minute, I am coming to look for you with the whole squad behind me"

"Mm-hmm" she smirks back at me as I turn and head back inside. I smile at all of them as I walk around the table and take my spot by it.

"Everything okay? Where is Callie?" Lena asks sounding very worried

"Yes, everything is fine. She just needs a minute of fresh air." I look around and notice that the kids are really quiet, and Mariana looks so guilty.

I pick up my spoon "Not your fault Mariana" I say to her

She slowly looks to me "Did I say something?"

"Of course not. Just slow down on the questions. Meeting all of you is pretty nerve wrecking as it is, and that is just the second most nerve wrecking thing, the first was seeing Jude after 6 years, it can hit pretty hard…" I say and put the spoon in the ice cream getting some on my spoon

"I'm sorry" Mariana says back sounding genuine

"Everything is fine, sweetheart. Don't worry" I smile back to her and finally I see the big smile on her she had on before

I hear the doors in back open and close and after few seconds Callie walks back to the table and sits back down.

"So" Jesus spoke up sitting next to his twin sister "Did you cry in your room like B did after he lost in the finale!" he asks holding his spoon with ice cream up as. Jesus had this big smirk on his face, he was clearly teasing his older brother.

"I did NOT cry!" B says from the other table said firmly

"Are you sure, cause…Frankie here said she heard something different" he looks to the little sister who sat next to Lena at the end of the table, the two kids high five

"I didn't—" Brandon looked around to his family, who were all giggling, then he face palmed himself "this family" he mumbles under his breath and takes a big spoon of ice cream. Callie was smirking too, at how the siblings were teasing the oldest boy.

Callie then looked to her right to her brother. Her brother just smiled up to her, then he leans closer and whispers something in her ear. Callie giggles as he finishes the whisper and then Jude giggles himself.

I saw something in her eyes. I can't explain it. I guess if I had to then I would say the look in her eyes said that she missed **_this_**. She missed this kind of sibling teasing. Yes she had some, with Jude when they grew up, but now I see, she missed this more than anything. She missed giving advice, playing with him, reading together with him or for him, showing him what she learned in school, help her brother out when he asked for something. I think Callie missed looking out for him, you know, like, always hold your brothers hand when you cross the street, staying with him while mom and dad were ,for example, taking out money from the ATM, hold his hand as he waits for his first dentist appointment.

She probably missed the younger siblings job of irritating and annoying her and walking after her, doing everything she is doing, following her footsteps everywhere she goes. She missed having a brother. Sibling bond is something special and Callie missed out on so many of the sibling moments. And I can see it clearly now, she was born to be the big sister.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: the story is coming to an end. Only two more chapter to go. So I wanted to find out from you, would you like to see a squeal to the story or not?**

Jude POV

After the dinner, I take Callie by her hand again and take her up to my room, as others stay down. I push the doors open and take her in to my and Jesus room making an entrance sound "Ta-da" adding jazz hands just for fun, she ruffles my hair walking pass me in the room, looking around.

I wait few seconds as she looks around the room, then I move to my bed, reach over it to the shelf that stood as a wall between my and Jesus part of the room. I take the stuff I wanted to show her, but as I look back to her she was already head close to the big collage of my drawings and doodles that was put up to the wall, just by my desk. She has this smirk on her lips as she looked over each and every little drawing I have made.

"Can I take a photo of these?" she asks briefly turning to me and then looks back to the drawing. But then she takes a double take back on me, and her eyes grow big.

She turns to me completely "Is that…Mr. Bunny the teddy bear?" she points to soft toy in my hands and takes a step closer.

I nod "Yep!" I extend my arms holding it out for her "You remember him?

She chuckles "Oh, I thought I would never see him again. You two were inseparable" she slowly reaches for it, till she finally takes it from my hands. Examining it closely.

"The eye fell out when I think I was 7. Mama sewed up buttons for both of his eyes instead, so he has both eyes the same"

Callie is smiling at the teddy bear with the biggest smile I have ever seen on her. Smile that can be only described as a smile from one ear to other. It made me smile too, seeing my sister so happy, just because of a silly old teddy bear.

"You wouldn't go to sleep if mom didn't kiss Mr. Bunny to sleep too" she remember as she still is looking at the bear, lifting up its hands and legs

"Really?" I have no memory of that

"Mm-hmm." She looks up to me "I didn't think you would have kept him all these years" Callie hands it back to me

"Are you kidding? This was the only toy I needed. Moms got me bunch of new some new toys and stuff, but I wouldn't take them. I didn't like any of the new stuff. I just wanted my old Mr. Bunny teddy bear. So everything they bought for me eventually ended up in twins possession and now part of it is Frankie's"

She chuckles "You did love the bear"

"I still do" I place him back on the shelf at his spot. Next to some books of my.

"Can I sit?" Callie asks gesturing to the bed next to me, I quickly nod back and she takes her seat next to me. Our upper arms touch, she sat that close. She nudges my knee with hers.

"I didn't know you draw" she says looking to the drawings

"I don't. I just like to draw small doodles or sketches or something like that. Not these big amazing drawings or art works" I look down to my hands. I very often have some pencil marks or marker marks on my hands. Mom said to wash up before she arrived so now I have clean hands.

"No, don't say. Look at all of these" she gestures to the drawing "These are amazing, Jude. Truly amazing" she looks around the room "You have talent Jude. Real talent"

"Do you want to see something?" she nods back and I go to my desk, open last drawer and take the drawing pad, that I had kept hidden from everyone else, underneath everything. I sit back down next to Callie.

"I haven't shown these to anyone" I say and open to the first page, that had this pencil drawing of Callie. Of how I remembered her. I made it 2 years ago on her birthday.

"Oh my god" Callie breathes out looking at it

"Do you like it?" I ask carefully watching her reaction to it. Her right moves closer to the paper, but her fingers doesn't touch the paper, it just lingers over the drawing of her.

I see tears forming up in her eyes "Jude, this…oh my gosh…this…like it? I love it, this is…amazing"

"I drew it one night, when I couldn't sleep and I was thinking about you." her left hand quickly went up to her eyes and she wiped away tears before they fell "I have one of everyone in the family too"

I show her the next few pages that had drawings the same way, in pencil of Jesus, Mariana, Brandon, Stef, Lena, and then of Frankie. Before I close the drawing pad I turn to last two pages and show her the one with our dad and mom.

This time the tear from her eyes falls down, I close the pad and lean it for a side hug. She quickly hugs me back

"They were incredibly beautiful, Jude. Just, perfect" Callie places a kiss to my temple and kissed me three times. Like Stef kisses. Her kisses felt just as good. Maybe even better.

For the last 6 years I was imagining many ways of how we reconnected. Good, bad and in between. I pictured her in good homes and bad ones. I pictured her happy and I pictured her sad. I pictured her knocking on my window and just swooping me away, stealing me away in a flying car (okay, that one I dreamt after I read second Harry Potter book and saw the second movie). Every possible outcome, was imagined in my mind over the 6 years.

And I always thought about her personality too. Would she be the same I remember her? Would she be mean, rough? Would the foster homes changed her? Would she have walls built up, or would she be as fragile as glass? Or extra happy and cheerful person? Very emotional and would she keep all her feelings to herself? Would she still be the sister I remember?

But I am also a realist. And I know she wouldn't be extremely happy person, but I also knew she wouldn't hide her feeling from me. I knew there was a possibly she grew up in bad homes, like twins before they landed here, but now I know she has found a good home, just like me. It just took longer for her.

The truth is – I was waiting for someone like her. The person who is sitting next to me right now. Still loving and caring, and showing emotions, but also she had this strong presence of her, she still makes me feel safe in her arms, and her hugs felt the same when she had hugged me before, if not even better. She looks and sounds so wise and smart for her own age. She has this presence with her. And it is completely captivating. She is very easy to like. But I can tell she has been through a lot, and the innocent, positive, carefree 10 year old Callie that I last remember, was not there anymore. She has grown up so much.

* * *

Callie is now laying in my bed on her back, holding the bear up in her arms "Do you remember how you got him?" she moves his arms up and down

"No" I was sitting on the end of the bed, legs crossed under me

"Donald and I went to this carnival. I think you were like one and you stayed home with mom. And there was this game where you need to shoot the ducks with a water gun. And Donald won and this was the prize. When we got home you just saw it and you wouldn't let go of it."

"I don't remember that" I giggle just at the thought of that as I am looking to my hands

"Of course you wouldn't! You were one, silly" she giggle back

I look up to her, she has now placed the bear on her chest "Why do you call him Donald?"

"What?" she asks tilting her head to one side, looking at me.

"Dad? Why do you keep calling him Donald? He is still our dad you know. He just made a mistake. A real bad one. But just a mistake. He still loves us."

"Jude-" she starts quietly

"No, you can't just-" I stop just there and change the theme but not too far away from the current one "Do you hate him? Do you really hate him that much, that you can't even call him dad?"

Callie props up on her elbows "I don't hate him, Jude" she puts the bear next to her

"Then what? Are you like…still super mad at him or angry?"

"That's…Jude, it…." she stops and then shifts so now she is sitting up too, looking at me "I forgave him long time ago. I don't hate him, I am not angry at him or mad." She says softly not taking her eyes off me

"Then why do you keep calling him by his first name?" I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

Similar to Callie I forgave him too. I have not seen him, but I wrote a letter to him when I was 9 I think, with help of Lena and he wrote back. I don't hate him for killing mom, I know he didn't mean to. It was an accident, one that he feels guilty off, as he had said in the letter.

She bites her lower lip and her right hand goes up to rub her nose, she briefly looks aside, away from me, then she looks back to me. She suddenly looks different. I got this cold feeling. Like this gut feeling, that she is about to tell me something I won't like.

"Jude, he…" she looks back down to her lap "he is not my dad, Jude" she says very quietly

"What do you mean?" I exclaim out loud "Of course he is your dad" I say not wanting to believe it. He was our dad, he raised us, he played with us, he taught me how to ride a bike. Of course he was her dad as well.

"He is not. Not my biological dad at least" she says sadly "My biological father is guy named Robert Quinn"

"How….I…How can that be?" I ask taken aback by the news

"Apparently Donal-Dad….met mom when I was like 6 months old. And they got married and had you. And he just took me in too. Said he raised me like his own. That when I was old enough to understand it didn't seem relevant, because…because I was his daughter too."

"But…that makes us….only half-siblings" I get out slowly

"It doesn't change US. We are still - brother and sister. Nothing has changed! Okay? I don't love you any less!"

But that doesn't change the fact that it still hurt. Deep down it still hurt. Callie sensed that and moved on the bed, next to me and hugged me, she kisses my temples and then whispers in my ear

"It doesn't change anything Jude. You are still my bother. Period. Forever and always."


	15. Chapter 15

Callie POV

I was holding my brother in my embrace after the news hit him. I know it takes time to swallow news like that. It took me while too. I know how it feels, it feels exactly like someone sucker punched you - takes a time to recover from that.

But I have no doubt Jude will be okay. He has enough people to turn to, to hug and kiss him and reassure him. And I am once again on that list. He can turn to me too.

There is a knock on the doors and I lean out of the hug a bit, just before the doors open and Lena peaks her head in.

"You two okay in here?" Lena asks smiling opening the doors wider as we part away from one another. I look to her and the first thing I see is that she has this guilty look on her when she looks to me. I don't know why that is, but maybe I simply don't need to know.

"Good. We are good" I smile warmly at her as Jude wipes away a stray tear, he was sitting back to the door, Lena didn't see that he had tears in his eyes. She notices Jude hasn't turned to look at her and looks back to me again.

"We have some fruit downstairs if you want. And muffins and some swiss roll" She takes her hand off the door handle "also Stef just now pulled out Jude's photo album"

That instantly got my attention, and I think she knew it would "I got to see that!" I say excited back

"Thought you would" Lena smiles warmly

"You coming?" I ask Jude putting hand on his knee, looking at him

"Mm-hmm" he hums back and I sense that he needs a minute

"I will be downstairs looking at your first school outfit!" I say with a smile and stand up from the bed "We all live for moms to tell embarrassing stories about us, really. That is the meaning of life!" I say just to get a small smile out of him. But it doesn't work. He still has the same sad eyes and look on.

I take a second till I walk pass Lena. As I am at the stair I know that she is not following me, instead I hear "Jude, honey, is everything okay?" I looked back at the room and hear footsteps and then the bed creek.

I figured he was in good hands and finally make my way downstairs. I got lost for a moment as I took the last step down, forget which way is which room.

"In here" Jesus says walking with a coca cola bottle in his hands coming out from what I think was kitchen, heading pass me. I follow him and found that everyone else is situated in the living room around the coffee table that was covered in some food and snacks and drinks.

"Where is the little one?" I ask entering after Jesus "Lena put her down for a nap" Stef reply and puts her wine glass down on the coffee table

Mom was sitting with a glass of wine in her hand "Mom, are you drunk!?" I ask walking closer and sitting on the arm holder of her chair

"I am just tipsy. I hope you have your license with you?" she pats my hand and looks up to me

"I do….but what if I want to drink too?" I ask her back serious and she starts to laugh. Then the laughter comes to abrupt stop.

"You are not to drink! Ever!" she says serious as never before, she takes another sip of her wine then looks up to me again "And since when do you want to drink?"

"I don't, but I would like to have the possibilities open" I smirk back and hear Mariana giggle at that

"Mom" she then speaks up "Can I have a sip too?" reaching for Stef's glass

"NO" Stef says serious with just the one word and picks up her glass, holding it away from Mariana

"Here, dink this!" Jesus hands her a glass of coca cola. Mariana pouts, but take the glass from her brother, Jesus hands me a glass

"Thank you" I reply as I take the drink, it had ice and straw. Fancy.

"So, where are the photos? I was told there are photos and embarrassing stories" I look around and see that the photo albums were next to Stef on the couch, between her and Brandon

"Where is Jude?" She asks back and wipes her hands in a napkin.

"He is upstairs. I told him about Donald" I say and sip my drink just to avoid talking for few seconds and see their reaction. By the looks Stef hadn't told anyone else about the half-sibling thing.

"Donald?" Brandon asks "What is there to tell?"

"He is not my biological father" I say leaning down and put the glass on the coffee table. The three oldest kids suddenly look to Stef and then to me, until Mariana speaks up

"But…doesn't that makes you—" Mariana points to me

"His half-sister. Yes, I am aware" I say back keeping my posture straight

"Lena with him?" Stef asks me running her hands on her tight, eager to just go up and check on him. I nod back and that seemed to calm her down a bit.

"Album!" Jesus lifts it up after reaching over Stef to take it, he raises his eyebrows few times. I stand up and walk to the couch, sit next to Jesus and Stef as they scoot and he opens the album first page and places it on my lap

"Oh boy, I already like this!" I say seeing his first picture. It was a picture of him up close smiling to camera with his front teeth out. The smile he had was priceless.

"Wait, hold up. I need this…I will use it as screen saver!" I say and take a photo with my phone.

Mom gets on the couch too as her and Brandon switch places. Stef takes the album to her lap, so me and mom would both see, that leaves Jesus leaning real close to me to see too. Then Stef starts telling the story behind each and every one of the photos in the album.

Lena and Jude all came down together some 10 minutes later. In the next 3 hours and 2 photo albums of him, The Adams Fosters family made him blush and made him want to put his head in the ground and never crawl out for it, approximately 8 times. Frankie got up and joined us back when we were about in the middle of the first album, about some hour later.

My next favorite after the first toothless smile was a picture of him at Halloween when he was dressed up Harry Potter when he was 10. That was apparently his Harry Potter phase.

Third best was around 3 years ago, when Frankie was born and he was holding her in his hands, just looking down to her, finally knowing the feeling of being an older sibling.

The last picture was of him and his friend Connor where they had won the science project about their DNS project.

"And that's the last one" Stef said closing the album and put it down on the coffee table

"Finally! Can we never do that again! Like ever" Jude said relieved that this part was over.

He sat up straighter as a thought crossed his mind "Do you have an album I could see when I visit you?"

"No" I say reaching for the last of swiss roll

"Finally someone took it. Thank you, Callie" Lena said standing up and took all the empty plates to kitchen, clearing the table a bit.

"What do you mean - no?" He asks back "I need to see your pictures too"

"There are no pictures, Jude" I say sadly and take a bite, he slumped back down. Mom spoke up as reached for some salty nuts

"Well, there are few, but like…30 tops. And most of them are from last year when life was…kind of back on the normal path. First year was kind of a-"

"Mess" I finish moms sentence for her

"But I have about 1000 of you" I joke with mom

"Oh, yeah…" mom giggles "I gave her a camera on this Christmas and she tool like thousands of photos of my left side of face. She said she was-" mom adds double quote sign with her hands "-learning about the camera functions" she lowered her hands down "And then, get this…" she leans off of the arm holder at the end of the couch closer to Stef "I look better on my right side"

"What-" I smirk back at mom "You do. On the camera at least"

"Where was the bathroom again?" I ask looking around the room for someone to tell me.

Stef points "Right thought there. You will see it. On the right" she says pointing to the dinner room

When I get back mom is telling the story of our song, she looked very emotional actually "-best decision I made" mom said as I walked in.

She actually had tears in her eyes. Either it was the vine or the story, but something got to her. And now, as I reentered the room, everyone was looking at me. I felt like I was put on a silver plate to everyone to look at.

"Remember that, erm, time when we I tried to play guitar?" I nod back. How can I forget that.

_Flashback 7 months in _

_I was sitting in my room just working on some notes, when Amy knocked and walked in as the doors were wide open "Hey"_

_"Hey" I say back without looking up _

_"Busy?" Amy asks, when I tap my pen to notepad _

_"No, not really, just working on the notes for my music"_

_"Then I will come back later, I don't want to disturb you…"_

_"No, no…I have already studied for some hour. I could use a break" I say closing the notepad, leaving my pen on top of it. Amy walks to my end of bed where the guitar stood, played with the strings for a short moment "So I was thinking…could you teach me to play a song?"_

_That was a weird request, but I went with it "Like the real deal…on a guitar?" I ask shocked. As far as I knew, she was terrible at the music thing. _

_I laugh at first, but as she keeps looking seriously at me I stop laughing "I can try" _

_Amy turned to me, hands in her sweatpants pockets "I heard this song on American Idol when I was watching re-runs yesterday….and I don't know-" she shrugs "-I just…it spoke to me in some I way, and I figured you could like teach me the chords and I try and learn to sing along it myself"_

_"Yeah, sure…I just need the notes, I need to know the song and then search for the-"_

_She then pulled out her phone, tapping on it "I already searched them up. I have them….right here" she handed me her phone._

_"Okay then" I smile back to her "on laptop it would be easier to read them" I suggest_

_"I got it" she runs out of my room and walks back with her laptop, now typing in and searching the same page just on the laptop. In the meantime, I cleared my bed of the books and got my guitar in my hands._

_I took few minutes to go over the notes by myself and then began to teach Amy._

_4 hours later_

_I face palmed as Amy again made the same mistake "No, that…..is not the first thread and you need to use….I told you already" I was starting to get stressed out_

_"Which one did I play?" she asks still not understanding_

_"2nd! This one is first" I show her again "And use your pinky, middle and ring…" she once again plays it wrong_

_"No, no, no…" I threw my head back and covered my face with my hands "I need a break" I say before I completely snap at me_

_"Good idea! I need one too" she agrees and the rest of the day we spent far away from one another as humanly possible. Both in our rooms, only seeing each other when we went to make dinner together._

_Next day we both had gotten up pretty early and this time we took the learning to play guitar thing outside on the back porch. My patience and nerves were back, Amy was eager to learn it, not giving up and promised she won't screw up so many times like yesterday._

_We took a short break for lunch, but after lunch Amy was able to play at least half of the song correctly. _

_2 days later my patience of teaching Amy was completely gone, but luckily she has learned to play it. And I swore to myself that I will never ever do this again. She was horrible! And I mean it. Or maybe – I was just horrible teacher._

_"Can I take your guitar and go practice the singing too, if you don't need to practice yourself-" She holds my guitar _

_"No, no, go ahead, take it. I already practiced in Music school. I will go read a book or something" I say and make my way to my room. _

_Next Sunday, I was lounged out in living room when I heard Amy yell from upstairs "CALLIE, COME UP HERE PLEASE!" _

_I turned off the TV by remote and as I stood up I tossed the remote to couch and made my way up. She had put a chair in the middle of the room. She seemed super eager and nervous _

_"Sit, sit" she slightly moves the chair as she stood behind it, waiting till I sit down. I laugh and go sit down, she hurries to the bed, sits down and takes the guitar. _

_"Should I go get Mrs. Fletcher from next door, so you would have bigger audience?" I ask jokingly, but she answered pretty seriously_

_"You are the only audience I need for this" _

_"Just don't laugh okay?" she shifts lightly on the bed as she looks to me seriously, adjusting the guitar over her knee "It is my first time singing and playing guitar in front of someone…please don't laugh"_

_"I won't, I promise" I say as I was now eager to hear it all together_

_End of flashback_

"Would you mind playing the song again?" Mom asks smiling at me

"I don't have my guitar" I say back as it was pretty obvious

"I have one" Brandon said "I can go fetch it…if you will play it?"

"Erm…"I look around the room, to all of their hopeful looks "Okay" I say slowly, and with that Brandon walked upstairs and returned few seconds later with a guitar in his hand.

"I don't think it is tuned" he says handing it to me

"That's fine. I will tune it quickly" I say putting the guitar on my knee and started to tune it. I do the best tuning I can in the short period of time while the others chat about other stuff.

"Okay, ready?" I say and look around the room once again. The talking stopped and I started playing.

**"****_Hold on, to me as we go  
As we roll down this unfamiliar road  
And although this wave is stringing us along  
Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home_**

**_Settle down, it'll all be clear  
Don't pay no mind to the demons  
They fill you with fear  
The trouble it might drag you down  
If you get lost, you can always be found_**

**_Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home_**

**_Settle down, it'll all be clear  
Don't pay no mind to the demons  
They fill you with fear  
The trouble it might drag you down  
If you get lost, you can always be found_**

**_Just know you're not alone  
Cause I'm going to make this place your home"_**

_Flashback continuous_

_Amy finishes the song and looks to me. She had this almost desperate look in her, but also this….happiness and hope was visible in her eyes. Her singing was pretty bad, but…_

_"Well?" she asks me as she puts the guitar down on the bed next to her_

_"You clearly suck at singing" I say honestly back _

_"I know, but…but what do you say? Do you want to?"_

_I know what she was asking about, but it still felt unrealistic. Yes, I have thought about it, what it would be like if this was permanent. If this would be the place I call home. But I always thought that will never happen to me. I always thought I was too old to be adopted._

_"If you had just asked me you would have saved my eardrums" I say back looking at her, the happiness inside me was growing fast, it was just waiting to completely show on the outside too_

_"But what fun would that be" she moves up to me and kneels in front of me, taking my hands in hers "Plus, we have an amazing story….that is, if you want to. If you agree"_

_I nod back as the smile on my face kept growing bigger and bigger. _

_"Yeah?" she asks back_

_"Yes" I say happily before Amy jumps off the ground and pulls me up in a big hug and squeezes the hell out of me, squeezing my tightly and kissing my cheeks over and over again that just made me giggle_

_"But-" I say and lean a bit out of the hug "-you have to give me the lyrics so I can sing this song properly when we retell this story to people"_

_"Deal. I tell the story, but you will play it and sing our song."_

_"__**Our song**__" I say it out loud as I thought about it in my mind _

_"I like it. We have a song" as I say it Amy places another kiss on my forehead "__**Callie Quinn Scott. **__How cool will you sound, eh?" _

_End of flashback_

No one said a word. I don't know if it was good or bad. But they all did look in awe. I cleared my throat and handed the guitar back to Brandon.

"Why don't I have a song?" Jude exclaimed

"Yeah! We want a song too!" Jesus add and they both now look to their moms

"Look what you two did!" Stef said faking an angry tone "being all cute and fluffy. Having a song…"

"It was amazing Callie" Lena said from the couch

"Yeah, really cool" Mariana added

"Thanks" I say back politely

"Callie?" then came a voice almost like a whisper, but I would recognize his voice everywhere and anytime

"Hmm?" I turn to him "Can we go for a walk?" he asks me shyly

"Um, yeah, sure. Yeah, let's go" I say and we both head out the house

"Let's go to beach" he says and points the way "It is just like 7 minute walk" he says as we take off

**AN: just one chapter left. I would still really appreciate your opinion if i should post and if you would read a sequel to this. Just No/Yes. i don't want to post if you won't read or if you are not interested. But big thank you to everyone who has followed, favorite and review. Big thank you!**


	16. Chapter 16

Callie POV

We walked out of the house and we were walking for some minute just in silence. Enjoying the soft wind that was blowing.

"This is a nice block. Mission bay-" I remind myself the address as I look around "-probably great place to grow up"

The houses all looking pretty much the same, quiet neighborhood, probably nice welcoming people, cleaned up gardens, cut grass, flower beds, everyone one of the house had a car parked next to it.

"It's pretty awesome, yeah" Jude says and kicks a small rock ahead

"You have block parties here?" I ask as I remember that the lady that lives across from us in summer always throws a block party.

"We do. Every July 20th. The lady who lives three house down throws them and organizes everything" Jude explains when he, like a small kid, starts to walk the side of the road, that separates street from sidewalk, balancing with his hands out, not stepping on the cracks.

I follow him and start to walk the same way, this made me feel like I was 6 again - the young me that didn't know the world was a cruel place and that bad things happened to people. To both – the good and the bad people.

"Where do you live now?" he asks walking in front from me "Opal street 14…in the Pacific Beach region"

"That is not too far from here" he says, briefly glancing back to me as I walk behind him "like 20 minute drive, right?"

"Yeah, something around that" I confirm

"What school do you go to?" he asks next

"Um, well…I am actually changing schools" I reply

Jude looks over his shoulder to me surprised "You are?"

"Mm-hmm, I am changing to Anchor Beach"

"Really?" he stops and turns to me

"Yeah, mom said she would talk details with Lena today. She told me Lena is the VP there"

"She is" he continues walking "That's cool. We will maybe see each other in breaks. Not lunch breaks. I have different time than the high school kids, but the first few breaks before lunch we could actually see one another. That's like the best news ever"

"I thought so too" I smile back even thou he doesn't see my smile, but I was happy about it too. I don't care if I see him 5 minute a day or talk to him for 10 seconds, I am just happy that I would be able to see him every day

"I think moms like you"

"I doubt it. I am not the person who leaves the best first impression. Okay, I have met and talked to Stef before shortly, but it is different this time"

"I think it is kind of similar like when Zach, Talia or Emma have come over. The first impression think I mean" Jude says back

"I am guessing and saying those are the boyfriends and girlfriends?"

"Mm-hmm, Zach had to move away now, so Mariana is actually really sad right now. Talia is just nice on outside, but mean on inside, but B doesn't see that, you know, pink glasses and all that, moms don't like her either. And Jesus and Emma are on the same wrestling team and she helps him with math too. Moms like her. She is nice, I like her too. But ever since he started going out with Emma he puts me out of our room."

"That's not nice. He really does that that?"

"Mm-hmm, he calls it 'Jesus time!' "Jude chuckles "I know what it means" he says with a small smirk when he looks over his shoulder to me

"Do you have any siblings? Like does Amy has another kids?"

"Well, she had. A son. But he died along with her husband. Like, 2 years ago." I decide not to tell him about Sophia. He doesn't need to know. I barely know her. I don't want anything to do with her. She is a spoiled brat and I want nothing to do with her or her father or their family.

"Oh!" He says sadly as I walk back to walking on path as he continues his balancing on the side of the road

"That is kind of like we lost mom" he says in much sadder tone

"I think it is worse, you know. Parents aren't supposed to bury their kids. She watched him grow, fed him, changed his dippers, taught him to walk and talk and everything like that, and then she had to see him getting lowered 6 feet under. No one deserves that - watching their kid being buried. And also her husband…it was just…" I look down and just shake my head as I had no words for that.

He stopped walking on the sideways and now walked up to me "She has you right? She looks happy. At least to me. She is not alone so that is good."

"I guess she does. But she is not like she was before"

I can see the beach now and in a minute we both take off our shoes and walk on the sand barefoot, shoes in our hands. We walk to the sea and stand there as the water washes over our feet.

"Cold" I say and step to the sand after few seconds. It seems like Jude is like a winter bear he still stays in the water as we walk down the coast line.

"Can I ask you something?" he asks as he finally steps out of the water to the sand

"Sure" I don't hesitate with a reply

"Do you know why we were separated?"

Okay, I did not expect that questions. Nor do I know how to answer him. Do I lie? Or do I tell the truth and risk the chance of hurting him in the process?

As I struggle with the answer he stops behind me. As I no longer hear his footsteps I stop too, turn back to him

"Just tell me the truth please" Jude pleads and looks like the 6 year old boy I saw last. So desperate for answers. For someone to tell him what really is going on.

"Do you know why we were separated?" he repeats the question. I look out to the sea, the sun was about to set.

"I do" I say and take few steps back and sit in the sand placing my shoes next to me. Jude tosses his shoes down and sits down next to me, watching the sun set as well.

"I was asked…if I wanted to us to be placed together" I explain to him, afraid to look him in the eye

"And you said NO?" he snaps back sounding hurt already

"No, of course not Jude. It wasn't that simple!"

"It seems easy enough for me!" the hurt in his voice hasn't left. It was still there, it was even stronger.

"No, it wasn't! Jude, foster parents…they have priorities…or you know, age groups they want. Boy or girls. Rarely foster parents wants two kids. Rarely foster parents want two kids when one is almost a teen!"

"What are you saying?" he asks back

"It was either us being together in a bad home or you being alone in a good home. Stef and Lena had said in their profile they want a boy your age. They didn't want another kid. They didn't want ME. And if I had said we want to stay together…you would have been with me in all the bad homes I was. And looking back, I would never ever want that"

"I would have chosen to stay with you!"

"No" I shake my head "No, I wouldn't allow it. I didn't know that it was Stef and Lena, but I was told that they are good family. Family that can offer you a safe home, you would be happy, you would have a chance at future! A chance at life! If we had stayed together - we would be unhappy, and you would not have no chance of succeeding life like you are now! I was the one dragging you down and the connection had to be cut."

"I would have taken you over every good home"

"Jude, you don't know what I have been through. I promised mom long before she died that I would always protect you, this time if I wanted to protect you I had to let you go. It was the right thing to do! Look at your life Jude, it is everything mom would have wanted for you. Loving, caring family, siblings, great school, great home, neighborhood, you are safe, you are healthy, fed, cared for. You are happy! You have everything that I missed for the first 4 years." I look to him by my right, he was looking down to sand as he was drawing something with his finger on the sand. He was clearly mad at me.

"You think I wanted to see you go?" I ask him back. Jude looks up to me briefly before looking back down to sand.

"I didn't. I wanted to keep you to myself, but if I did that, you wouldn't have the life mom wanted for you. I was doing this for you. So you would have a better life." I look back to the horizon

"I understand if you are angry at me. I get that and I am okay with that. I deserve all the hate and anger you have for me. But if you ask me if I could do it all over again, what would I chose - I would make the same choice. Because I care about you more than I care about myself. Always have. Always will. I will always do what is best for you."

"I am not angry…" he says and moves the sand over and hides the writing that he made before I saw it "I am just sad that you had to suffer because of me"

"I didn't suffer because of you. For you, Jude. Always for you"

"Still…" he says sadly and looks up to horizon, then moves closer to me, putting his head to my shoulder "I wish we could have stayed together, but still end up in a good home"

"We don't always get to have what we want Jude!" I say putting my arm around him, keeping him close to me "That is not how life works," I take a small pause "but we are here together, it worked out for us. Life did its magic and reunited us. The past…it doesn't matter. We are here – together"

"There is nowhere else I would rather be right now" he says snuggling even closer to me as we both watch how the sunset.

* * *

Amy was now talking with Stef and Lena as I stood on the porch with Jude

"When will I see you again?" he asks shyly

"I don't know. How about I call you tomorrow? We could go to the arcade if your moms allow me to take you out"

"I bet they will" he said convinced about that part

"But I will call you tomorrow, okay. Then we can think over what we want to do. Morning is always smarter than night. So, maybe we both get some other better ideas than an arcade"

"Okay" he says smiling at me, I smile back and ask

"Can I hug you?" he nods and flies in my arms

"I will see you soon. I promise, Jude" I whisper to him as I run my hand softly over his back. I will not break this promise.

"I know, I trust you" he whispers back as we embrace one another

"I love you Jude"

"Love you too" he says

When we lean out of the hug, Amy calls me "Callie, honey, come on. We should go" she says from the car as I turned to look at her

"Coming" I say back and lean in to leave a last kiss on his forehead "Bye"

"Bye" he waves at me as I take the steps down and walk to car, briefly stopping at Lena and Stef

"Thank you for today. I really appreciated it. It means a lot that you allowed me to see him. Really, you don't know much I appreciate it. Thank you doesn't cover it"

"No thank you necessary. Trust us when we say it was our pleasure, Callie. We could never imagine keeping you two apart" Stef says back as she stands with her hand wrapped around Lena

"Will we see you again soon?" Lena asks surprising me with that question

"Um, well…uh…would it be okay if I come by tomorrow and I take Jude to arcade or something? Just for few hours" I ask and hold my breath for an answer looking between the two woman

"That sounds good to me" Lena says as she looks to Stef who nods back

"Thank you again for today" I say and get ready to leave "Good night" I say to both of them and wave one last time to Jude, who was on the porch, standing on the last steps.

After the goodbyes I head to the car. When I buckle up and look back I see how both Lena and Stef walk up to Jude and wrap their hands around him, keeping him in the middle between them. I start the car and as I slowly pull out, I take one last glance back to him. They all wave at us as I drive away slowly.

**AN: The End. Thank you everyone who has read and stick with me thought this story. Thank you all for reading. I will probably post the squeal sometimes around the weekend. **


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